President Saleh says he wants to restore stability

The 627 followers of Shia cleric Hussein al-Houthi were captured during and following the rebellion he led over several months in 2004.

The rebels are from the Zaidi sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam. Yemen is a mainly Sunni country.

The rebels signed a covenant of loyalty and good conduct as a condition for their release, the government said.

Abdul Malak, a rebel commander and brother of Hussein - who was killed in battle in 2004 - issued a statement pledging "loyalty to... the homeland and the... republican regime, and that they would abide by the constitution and the laws of the land," a government announcement said.

The Yemeni Security Supreme Committee, which includes the interior and defence ministers, said the release was a result of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's "keenness to fulfil security and stability and to restore quiet to all the districts that were considered theatres for rebellion and sedition".

The pardon comes despite sporadic resumptions in fighting.

About 400 people died in Hussein's insurgency in 2004 in north-western Saada province.

Hundreds more died in March-April last year in the mountainous north-west, near the border with Saudi Arabia.

There were further clashes reported in Saada province last month.