Seven Indian nationals were then released after the Omani intervention.
The Omani government release said, “Following the instructions of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to work to meet the requests of the governments of the UK, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines to assist the release of a number of their nationals detained in Yemen, the Sultanate of Oman has coordinated with the concerned authorities in Sana’a, which thankfully responded to these endeavors.” It is important to know that the Oman side maintains contact with Houthis and that the group also has an office in Muscat,
Seven Indian nationals, among Yemen’s Houthi rebels detained, one national each from the UK, Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Ethiopia were taken from Yemen’s capital Sana’a to the Omani capital of Muscat on a Royal Oman Airforce flight. They were detained since January 2nd. In a statement, the external affairs ministry of the Omani government thanked the Omani government. It said, “The government of India would like to thank all concerned parties for the release of Indian sailors, in particular the government of Oman.”
Houthis are Yemeni rebels backed by Iran who are fighting against Saudi Arabia and the UAE for what they see as an intervention in their country. The Rwabee was a UAE-flagged vessel that the Houthis had taken into custody. Yemen has been in a state of civil war since 2011, when, amid the Arab Spring, the then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh was ousted. In the past Houthis have also attacked oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
