A total of 70 Yemeni fishermen have returned home after being held for months in Eritrean prisons, a Yemeni official told Xinhua on Wednesday.
The unnamed official said the fishermen, who had been “arbitrarily captured” while fishing in the Red Sea several months ago, arrived at Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeidah after their release on Tuesday.
The Eritrean side has made no comment regarding the release.
Their release comes after repeated appeals for freeing the detained fishermen by the Yemeni government and human rights groups, according to the official.
Last week, another ten Yemeni fishermen returned to Hodeidah after months of captivity in Eritrean prisons.
Since 2017, the coastlines of Yemen, particularly the western areas along the Red Sea, have experienced volatile circumstances due to the persistent military conflict between the Yemeni government forces and the Houthis.
The Red Sea waters off the coast of Hodeidah, which used to provide thousands of Yemenis with a living, have now turned into perilous grounds.
Yemen and Eritrea have a decades-long history of contesting disputed territories and islands in the Red Sea. The two countries briefly engaged in a conflict in 1995.
The Yemeni government has frequently lodged accusations against the Eritrean Navy for apprehending Yemeni fishermen within Yemeni or territorial waters in the Red Sea.