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| Arabia |
| American Freed in Yemen as Oman Hosts 'Secret' U.S. Talks |
| 2015-06-04 |
| [AnNahar] An American among several believed held by Huthis in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... was freed and receiving treatment Tuesday in neighboring Oman, which has been hosting talks between Washington and the Iran-backed Iranian catspaws. A diplomat in Muscat said the talks between the Americans and the Huthis were aimed at promoting a proposed peace conference in Geneva, which the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... has so far failed to persuade the warring parties to attend. But the State Department said only that Anne Patterson, the top U.S. official for Near East affairs, was in Oman for discussions "about many issues". News of the release of American journalist Casey Coombs came as Omani state media reported that a Singaporean had also arrived in the sultanate on his way home. "I can... confirm that U.S. citizen Casey Coombs has departed Yemen and has arrived safely in Muscat," said State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf. "He is in stable, pH balanced condition. The U.S. ambassador and a consular official met him at the airport upon his arrival and are providing all possible consular assistance." Pictures released by Oman's official ONA news agency showed Coombs being stretchered into an ambulance with a brace around his head. "We are grateful to the government of Oman and personally to Sultan Qaboos for assisting with the safe passage of a U.S. citizen to Oman," said Harf. Coombs, who had been working as a freelance journalist in Yemen since 2012, writing for publications including Time magazine and The Intercept, had been held by the Huthis for two weeks, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |