Page 11 - ARUBA TODAY

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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 1 OcTOber 2019

Yemen rebels free

290 detainees, reviving

hopes for talks

By AHMED AL-HAJ and taken in raids since 2014,
SAMY MAGDY when the rebels overran
Associated Press the capital, Sanaa, and
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Ye- much of the north, pushing
men's rebels on Monday re- out Yemen's internationally
leased scores of detainees recognized government
they had rounded up and and ushering in the civil war
held for years in rebel-con- that has killed tens of thou-
trolled territory, a develop- sands of people.
ment that raised hopes of A Saudi-led coalition in-
reviving stalled peace talks tervened in the conflict in
between the warring sides. 2015 and has since waged
The International Commit- war against the Houthis in
tee of the Red Cross said an effort to restore the gov-
the Iran-aligned rebels, ernment of President Abed
known as Houthis, freed 290 Rabbo Mansour Hadi to A Yemeni detainee is greeted by his relative and friends after his release from a prison controlled
detainees. power. The fighting in the by Houthi rebels, in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 30, 2019.
Franz Rauchenstein, the Arab world's poorest coun- Associated Press
ICRC's chief in Yemen, said try has also left millions suf-
the Red Cross facilitated fering from food and medi- run detention center in the cluding three Saudis. without our support," she
the release following a re- cal care shortages and southwestern province of ICRC official Sarah al-Za- added.
quest from the Houthis. He pushed the country to the Dhamar. At least 130 peo- wqari told The Associated Abdul-Qader el-Murtaza,
expressed hope this would brink of famine. ple, mostly prisoners, were Press that the Red Cross in- a rebel official in charge
open the door to "further The ICRC said Monday's killed in that attack, ac- terviewed and facilitated of prisoners' affairs, called
releases to bring comfort to release included 42 survi- cording to Yemeni medics. the release of 290. "There on the U.N. to pressure the
families awaiting reunifica- vors of an attack earlier In Sanaa, the Houthis an- could have been more pris- Saudi-led coalition to "take
tion with their loved ones." this month by the Saudi- nounced they released 350 oners released but if that's a similar step" and free its
Most of the prisoners were led coalition on a Houthi- detainees on Monday, in- the case, that happened detainees in the war.q

Intl court orders alleged Mali jihadi leader to stand trial

By MIKE CORDER Mahmoud. Islamic extremist group. imposed a brutal regime Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi,
Associated Press The crimes were allegedly At a hearing in July to as- on Timbuktu residents dur- was convicted in 2016 and
THE HAGUE, Netherlands committed in Timbuktu sess the strength of the ing Ansar Dine's occupa- sentenced to nine years'
(AP) — International Crimi- during a brutal occupation evidence, defense lawyer tion. imprisonment for inten-
nal Court judges on Mon- of the historic desert city by Melinda Taylor argued that She said he "played an tionally directing attacks
day ordered an alleged Islamic extremists from April the prosecution case relies essential and undeniable against nine mausoleums
jihadi leader from Mali to 2012 until January 2013. heavily on statements Al role in the system of perse- and a mosque door in Tim-
stand trial on war crimes The global court said in a Hassan made while he was cution established by the buktu in 2012. Al Mahdi
and crimes against hu- statement that after study- held at an undisclosed lo- armed groups throughout had earlier pleaded guilty
manity charges. ing evidence presented cation in Mali that she said the period of occupation and expressed remorse for
A pretrial chamber issued a by prosecutors the judges was notorious for human of Timbuktu." his role in leading the de-
confidential decision con- concluded that there are rights abuses. She said that No date was immediately struction.
firming charges including "substantial grounds to be- Al Hassan later told ICC set for Al Hassan's trial. A French-led military oper-
torture, rape, sexual slav- lieve that Mr. Al Hassan is prosecutors he was tor- The case against Al Hassan ation in 2013 forced Al Has-
ery and deliberately at- responsible" for the crimes tured. is the second at the global san and others from pow-
tacking religious buildings charged. Prosecutor Fatou Bensou- court to focus on crimes er, though elements have
and historic monuments Prosecutors allege he was da told judges that Al Has- committed during the oc- continued to stage numer-
against Al Hassan Ag Ab- a key member of Ansar san was the de facto chief cupation of Timbuktu. ous attacks on Malian and
doul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Dine, an al-Qaida-linked of the Islamic police that A member of Ansar Dine, international forces.q