Yemen govt says rebels should free prisoners ahead of talks

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Armed tribesmen, loyal to the Shiite Huthi rebels, brandish their weapons at a gathering in the capital Sanaa to mobilize more fighters to battlefronts to fight pro-government forces in several Yemeni cities, on June 20, 2016. The Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies overran the capital Sanaa in September 2014 and went on to seize control of several regions, forcing President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia. / AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED HUWAIS

SANAA: Yemen’s government says the Iran-aligned Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, should release all detainees and captives held in their prisons ahead of peace talks.

The official news agency SABA quoted the government Sunday as saying that the Houthis should also hand over their arms and withdraw from all rebel-held areas including the capital, Sanaa, which they seized in September 2014.

The agency says Prime Minister Ahmed Obaid bin Daghr made the remarks in a meeting with the U.N. special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths.

Yemen was plunged in March 2015 into a war pitting a Saudi-led coalition backing the government of a self-exiled president against the Houthis.

Last month, Griffiths announced plans to bring Yemen’s warring parties to the negotiating table. He held several meetings with both sides since.