UN envoy welcomes release of Yemen PM, ministers from house arrest

UN envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar has welcomed the lifting of the house arrest of Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah, Foreign Minister Abdullah Alsaidi and other cabinet members, a UN spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Benomar "considered the move a good gesture that may restore the missing confidence in the current political negotiations," said Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, at a daily news briefing here.

The Shiite Houthi group, who controls the Yemeni capital Sanaa, on Monday released the government ministers and cabinet members after almost two months of house arrest.

Benomar expressed hope that the released government ministers would actively resume their contribution to Yemen's political life and to the success of the negotiations aimed at bringing the transitional process back on track and ending the serious crisis that threatens Yemen's unity, stability and security, Haq said.

The envoy also "called upon the Houthis to build on this gesture of goodwill by committing fully to Security Council resolution 2201," which urges the parties to engage in good faith in the UN-brokered negotiations, and for the Houthis to withdraw their forces from government institutions and normalize the security situation in the capital Sanaa and other provinces.

Security has deteriorated in Yemen since January when the Shiite Houthi group seized the presidential palace in Sanaa after deadly clashes with presidential guards, leading to the resignations of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Bahah.

The Shiite Houthi group, also known as Ansarullah, is based in the far northern province of Saada. It has been expanding its influence southward after signing a United Nations-sponsored peace and power-sharing deal on Sept. 21, 2014 following week-long deadly clashes. Endite