PARIS (AP) — France's president has announced the release of a French citizen held in hostage in Yemen for more than four months.
President Emmanuel Macron has congratulated all those who contributed to Alain Goma's release. Goma will be back in France soon.
Macron said Tuesday that he's grateful to Oman's sultan and authorities for their "decisive" role and Saudi authorities for their help.
French media reported that the 54-year-old Goma was on a sailing trip when damage on the ship forced him to dock in a Yemeni port of Hodeida in June, where he was held by rebels.
Yemen has been locked in a ruinous war pitting a Saudi-led coalition backing the government against Shiite rebels known as Houthis since March 2015.
Yemeni security officials said the Houthis released Goma from a prison in the capital, Sanaa, which is under rebel control.
They said the release came after "intensive" talks between France's envoy to Yemen and Houthi leaders in Sanaa. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to brief reporters.
Goma's family members had last month made the situation of Goma public in French media so that he wouldn't become a "forgotten hostage."
An estimated 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which has produced what the U.N. says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
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Associated Press writer Ahmed al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen contributed to the story.
