Oman says it aided release of Indonesia, Malaysian in Yemen

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Oman says it helped negotiate the release of an Indonesian and a Malaysian held in Yemen amid the war in the Arab world’s poorest nation.

The state-run Oman News Agency said Monday it reached an agreement “with the relevant authorities in Sanaa,” Yemen’s rebel-held capital, for the return of the two captives.

It said they arrived in Oman on Monday.

The brief statement did not identify those freed.

Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, did not join a Saudi-led military campaign targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Since the war, Oman has been crucial in negotiating the release of prisoners held in Yemen by the Houthis.

The Saudi-led coalition launched its war in Yemen in March 2015.