**Shia rebels in northern Yemen are reported to have released 178 civilians and government soldiers.**The release comes after the Yemeni government accused the rebels of not fully complying with a ceasefire agreed in February.
The rebels, known as Houthis, had fought Yemeni forces since 2004, until a major offensive by the government last year led to the peace deal.
Under the terms of the deal, the rebels agreed to free all prisoners.
They also pledged to open up roads, and withdraw from government buildings and army posts.
The government of Yemen is also facing two other militant groups - al-Qaeda and southern secessionists.
South and North Yemen were united in 1990 and fought a brief civil war in 1994, and grievances with separatists still remain.
The truce with the Houthis in northern Yemen has allowed the government in Sanaa to turn its attention to the secessionist movement and to the al-Qaeda cadre said to be hiding out in the same area.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an offshoot of the al-Qaeda core around Osama Bin Laden, have been using Yemen as a base since several militants broke out of a Saudi jail in 2008 and escaped over the border.