Political sources in Sana'a revealed that Oman is making intensive efforts to secure the release of former Defense Minister Major General Mahmoud al-Sobaihi and Brigadier General Faisal Rajab, the military commander of the Abyan Axis, who were abducted by Houthi militias from Aden on March 25, 2015. The sources confirmed to "Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath" on Thursday that Oman's efforts are part of international pressure on the militias to release other detained officials, including Brigadier General Nasser Mansour Hadi, brother of the Yemeni president, and Islah party leader Muhammad Qahtan, who are included in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216, which has called for their immediate release since its adoption in 2015.
Additionally, reports indicated that the militias allowed both Sobaihi and Rajab to contact their families for the first time in seven years from their secret detention facility on Wednesday. Local media reported that the son of Defense Minister Heyman al-Sobaihi stated that his father, detained by the Houthi group for years, made a phone call to the family. He added, "Hearing my father's voice in a phone call brought me back to life and the sun shone in my sky, which had been dark for years. The tone of his voice is what I have missed for years and has not changed."
Meanwhile, the son of Brigadier General Rajab noted that his father contacted them after many years of captivity and reassured them about his health, confirming that he and his companions are well. It is noteworthy that last year (October 2020) witnessed the largest prisoner exchange since the onset of the conflict between the Houthis and the Yemeni government, as planes carrying hundreds of prisoners flew from areas under the control of the militias to areas controlled by the legitimate government, and vice versa. The operation took place in two phases, with the first phase involving 630 detainees from both sides, while the second phase released 451.
