Saudi Arabia's deputy defence minister said on Saturday he has given Yemeni Shia rebels 48 hours to hand over five Saudi soldiers believed to be held captive. "They must return our five prisoners, and we have given them 48 hours to do so," Deputy Defence Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan said at a defence show in Riyadh, adding his country would "not permit militants to remain on our soil."
The countdown started from Friday, his aide, General Ibrahim al-Malek, told AFP. "He gave them 48 hours from yesterday," said the aide, who like Prince Khaled did not specify what action Saudi Arabia would take if the prisoners were not released by the deadline.
Rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdel Salam earlier told AFP that the Shiite fighters were preparing to free Saudi prisoners captured in border clashes that broke out in November. "Measures are underway to hand over the Saudi prisoners to a mediator, Ali Nasser Kersha," a tribal official from the northern province of Saada, the spokesman said. He did not specify how many prisoners the rebels were holding, how many would be freed, or the timing of the releases.
From November 4, the Saudi military unleashed a campaign of aerial bombing along with artillery and ground attacks against the rebels, saying they had crossed into Saudi territory, killed a border guard and occupied two villages. The fighting killed 109 Saudi soldiers and an unknown number of Zaidi Shiite rebels.
"It is very quiet now" on the border, a Saudi military official said on Saturday, declining to be named. The rebels, also known as Huthis, have begun implementing a cease-fire deal with the Yemeni government, part of which stipulates the release of all prisoners, including Saudi soldiers.
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