Sanaa, May 25: Yemeni authorities released 200 northern rebels and 98 southern activists on Monday as part of an amnesty proclaimed by the country’s president, the official Saba news reported overnight.
Saba said that 200 people detained for “their involvement in the rebellion in Saada province” and 98 arrested “for participation in unrest in certain provinces of the south” were freed.
The releases came under an amnesty for supporters of Zaidi Shiite rebels and southern separatists announced by President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Friday.
In all, some 800 southerners and 2,000 northern rebels should be covered by the amnesty, according to estimates from the two sides.
Saba called on “all those released to be good citizens and to respect the constitution and the law.”
Saleh had also proposed the formation of a national unity government with the opposition, in a speech marking the 20th anniversary of the unification of Yemen.
A February 12 ceasefire brought an end to the uprising by the Zaidi rebels, also known as Huthis, which had flared up repeatedly in the northern mountains since 2004.
South Yemen was independent from British withdrawal in 1967 until 1990. It seceded in 1994, sparking a brief civil war that ended with the region being overrun by northern troops.
South Yemen has been the site of repeated protests in recent months by activists who complain of discrimination by northerners, and demand either independence or increased autonomy.
—Agencies