The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Organization revealed on Tuesday that it began Monday a two-day visit to the 72 Yemeni soldiers who were captured by al-Qaeda militants two weeks ago in the southern province of Abyan.
In a press release, Eric Marclay, the head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen, said" "Our aim on this first visit is to check on the conditions of detention and the treatment the detainees are receiving."
"Their rights must be respected and they must be treated humanely in all circumstances, as stipulated in international humanitarian law, and the ICRC must be allowed to repeat its visits to them as long as they remain in detention."Eric said.
In the past week, the ICRC had already provided medical treatment for wounded soldiers and had called on all parties to give it immediate access to the detainees.
The statement pointed out that the ICRC "visits to detainees are being carried out in accordance with the ICRC's customary working procedures and in the framework of visits the organization has conducted in Yemen since 2010".
In line with standard practice wherever the ICRC visits places of detention, its findings and recommendations are confidential and are shared solely with those in charge, according to the ICRC statement.
Two weeks ago, Ansar al-Sharia, or partisans of Sharia, a militant group affiliated to AQAP, carried out a surprising attack on military outpost in Abyan, leaving at least 150 killed, 50 wounded, and 72 others captured.
Last week, the terrorist group threatened it would kill the captives if the government did not pay heed to their demands.