US deports 11 Guantanamo Bay prisoners to Oman

The US Department of Defense announced the transfer of 11 Yemeni prisoners from the US Guantanamo Bay prison located in Cuba to Oman. Yemenis involved in terrorist activities have spent more than 20 years in prison without being charged.

“The United States is grateful to Oman and other partners for their willingness to support U.S. efforts to reduce the number of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and subsequently close the facility,” the Pentagon said in a statement. It is also noted that their transfer to Yemen is in the interests of US national security.

America classifies expulsion as repatriation. Since Yemen’s ongoing civil war means prisoners cannot be returned to their home country, they are sent to a partner country where they are given a chance to integrate into society.

The Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba was created in 2002 to house suspected terrorists. She has become a symbol of the “extreme measures” that the United States is taking in the war on terror.