Jordan announced on Sunday that two of its nationals, who had been held by the Houthi militias in Yemen since early November, were released on Sunday and returned safely to Amman.
The two Jordanians worked with the UN humanitarian programs in Yemen.
Spokesman for the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Daifallah al-Fayez said that Thamer Qutishat and Hamdi Melhem left Sanaa after they were held for 17 days by the Houthis.
The spokesperson said their release was the outcome of a multi-agency effort, involving the ministry and the office of the UN special envoy to Yemen.
He added that the Jordanian citizens were on an account audit mission of UN humanitarian programs when they were arrested by the Houthis.
This came as Yemen’s government urged the UN not to turn a blind eye after the Houthis attacked the government's representatives in a ceasefire committee with unmanned drones and ballistic missiles in Hodeidah on Sunday.
“We hold the UN envoy (Martin Griffiths) responsible for such ongoing aggressive acts and call on him to take a firm and clear position from such reckless behaviors,” Yemeni government spokesman Rajeh Badi told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The spokesman said the government would no longer accept the language of appeasement and diplomacy used by Griffiths and the international community towards Houthis.
“What happened in Mokha is considered a very dangerous escalation. Unfortunately, this barbarous act came only one day after Griffiths told the Security Council that the momentum to reach a political settlement in Yemen has been building, speaking in a positive language regarding the developments in the implementation of the Stockholm Agreement,” Badi said.
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