In a significant move, President Joe Biden’s administration announced the transfer of 11 Yemeni detainees from the United States naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to Oman on the 6th of January, 2025.
Among those transferred were two former bodyguards of the notorious Osama bin Laden.
According to Fox News, Oman graciously agreed to assist in their resettlement, as part of efforts to reduce the population at the highly controversial military detention facility.
The detainees were captured in the aftermath of the 11th of September, 2001, terror attacks and have languished for more than two decades without charges or trial, as reported by the New York Times.
The U.S. Defense Department issued a statement expressing gratitude to Oman and other partners for supporting U.S. efforts to responsibly decrease the detainee population and eventually close Guantánamo Bay.
The transfer, which was carried out during a covert early-morning operation on Monday, has been in the works for nearly three years. Originally planned for October 2023, it had been delayed due to opposition from congressional lawmakers.
With this release, the detainee count at Guantánamo has dwindled to just 15, consisting of six men still held without charges, two convicted individuals, and seven others facing charges for the 2001 attacks, the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, and the 2002 bombings in Bali.
A large number of Guantánamo detainees, the report reveals, are from Yemen a nation scarred by years of conflict and now under the influence of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.