An officer in the Saudi-led coalition announced on Thursday the formation of a committee to investigate the fate of forcibly disappeared prisoners in the southern port city of Aden, a day after threatening to crush a vigil by the Association of Mothers of Abductees in front of the coalition headquarters in Aden.

At a meeting at coalition headquarters on Feb. 6, the Saudi officer, known by the nickname Abu Sultan, urged all security, military, and prison officials in attendance to listen to the mothers’ requests for information about their abducted sons, according to a statement issued by the association. 

Some of the mothers at the meeting spoke in detail about their missing sons and mentioned the authorities responsible for their disappearance. 

The mothers’ of abductees association holds weekly vigils in Aden, appealing to the Saudi-led coalition, Yemen’s internationally recognized government and forces loyal to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council to release information about their sons' whereabouts.

The association welcomed the formation of the investigative committee as a positive step by the coalition, but added that it hoped that its results would be tangible, “revealing all those forcibly disappeared in Aden, empowering them with their rights and reunit them with their families."

The Saudi officer, whose true identity was not known, did not say who would be on the committee.

Last week, the Saudi-led coalition commander in Aden, who assumed authority in the interim capital following the withdrawal of UAE forces, denied any knowledge of forcibly disappeared detainees in Aden prisons.