Yemen's government has agreed to free more than 400 people, mostly northern rebels, as the Arab state tries to launch a dialogue with opposition groups, an opposition leader said today.
An opposition coalition and the ruling General People's Congress (GPC) party signed an agreement today to set up a joint body for a national dialogue, state media reported.
The government is trying to halt conflict in the northern province of Saada with Shi'ite rebels as well as with secessionists in the south.
"As demanded by the opposition in order to sign the agreement, President Ali Abdullah Saleh has issued a directive to free 27 from the southern movement and 400 with links to the fighting in Saada," the opposition figure, who declined to be named, said.
There was no immediate comment from the government.
Socialist opposition figure Mohammed Ghalib Ahmed said 28 southern activists had been released.
Yemen has faced pressure from Western governments and neighbouring Saudi Arabia to quell domestic conflicts and focus on fighting a resurgent al Qaeda wing based in the country after the group claimed responsibility for a failed bombing of a US-bound airliner in December.
The Shi'ite rebels have complained about what they call a government failure to free all detained rebels under a truce reached in February to end sporadic fighting which has displaced 350,000 people since 2004.
On their website, the rebels accused the army of being behind an ambush which killed three of their fighters yesterday.
On Thursday, officials accused the Shi'ite rebels of killing 11 people, including three policemen, in an attack on a convoy carrying food supplies for government forces in the north. The rebels denied involvement.
Reuters