Yemen's national military committee, tasked to restore order to the country in line with a Gulf- brokered power transfer deal, instructed the transitional government Monday to release all protest activists held during the year-long unrest, official Saba news agency reported.

"The Committee of Military, Security and Stability Affairs instructed the military and security units in Sanaa and the other provinces to release all protest activists detained during last year's unrest," Saba cited a statement of the committee as reporting.

The decision was declared Monday during a meeting between the military committee and ambassadors of the permanent member countries of the UN Security Council and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to Yemen.

It came after the committee almost finished dismantling major military positions of the rival forces in the capital Sanaa and southern restive province of Taiz and continued to re-unite and reconcile defected military and security units with the pro- government brigades.

Hundreds of activists from major Yemeni cities were arrested during the protest movement which began in January 2011 against the 33-year rule of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Government officials said the release would take place within days ahead of the planned presidential election.

The committee was formed earlier last month by Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has been the acting president since Saleh handed power to him in line with the Gulf deal.

Under the deal, Saleh's party and the opposition coalition agreed to nominate Vice President Hadi as the sole presidential candidate for the early election scheduled for Feb. 21 while Saleh retains the title of honorary president for 90 days before his resignation and enjoys immunity from prosecution afterwards.