Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, is set to brief the UN Security Council on Tuesday on the same day the talks in Yemen enters its third month, an Al Arabiya News Channel correspondent said. This comes after Ould Cheikh Ahmed held separate meetings with the Houthi militias' delegation. Sources said the meeting took nearly two hours in which the Houthis discussed potential next steps in reconciliation involving a military and security committees that will eventually lead to their surrender of arms. Houthi militia group in Yemen announced on Sunday the release of 276 government loyalists who had been held captive for months, in a gesture of good will. The Houthis' sabanews.net website said 200 detainees were set free in Rada, a town in the central province of Baida, and another 76 were let go in nearby Dhamar province. The releases come a day after the exchange of 194 prisoners in Taiz, in southwestern Yemen, following tribal mediation unconnected to UN-brokered peace talks in Kuwait. Those negotiations, now in their ninth week, have made no major breakthroughs, even on the issue of prisoners. Earlier this month, the rebels freed 187 captives. Meanwhile, relief agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned Sunday that the number of scabies cases has been "steadily" increasing in northern Yemen, mainly among displaced population. MSF said its teams treated 1,927 patients in May in the city of Khamer, compared with 123 patients in January. — Agencies
