German held in Yemen evacuated to Oman

DOHA (Reuters) - A German national held hostage in Yemen was airlifted to Muscat on Tuesday after neighboring Oman helped negotiate a release, the Omani foreign ministry said. The German was flown out of Yemen's capital, Sanaa, which is controlled by the Iran-allied Houthi militia, on an Omani air force flight on Tuesday evening, the ministry said in a statement, without identifying the hostage. Oman was asked to help by the German government, it said. In November, three Americans were air-lifted out of Yemen to Oman. The capture of Sanaa in 2014 by the Houthis provoked armed intervention by a Saudi-led Arab alliance, which has been waging an air strike campaign against the Houthis and allied soldiers loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Oman, which is not part of the Saudi-led alliance, has played an active role in efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict, which has killed thousands, many of them civilians. (Reporting by Fatma Al Araimi; Writing by Tom Finn; Editing by Catherine Evans)