In the civil war in Yemen The conflicting parties have agreed on the largest prisoner exchange to date. A total of around 2,900 prisoners are said to be between the internationally recognized government and the Houthi militia be exchanged. The office of the UN special envoy for Yemen and the International Committee of the Red Cross monitored the signing of the relevant agreement, Saudi Ambassador Mohamed al-Jabir said on X.
According to Majid Fadail, a Yemeni government official who was involved in the negotiations, the deal will also see the release of seven people from Saudi Arabia, 20 from Sudan and well-known Yemeni politician Mohammed Kahtan. Abdel Kadir al-Murtada, negotiator of the Iran-backed Houthisalso confirmed the agreement on X. According to him, the Houthis will release 1,700 prisoners and the government of Yemen, supported by Saudi Arabia, will release 1,200 in return.
UN special envoy speaks of a “significant” step
The parties to the conflict did not initially say when exactly the exchange would take place. The agreement followed 12 days of talks in Muscat, the capital of Oman. Oman borders Yemen and occurs in the Civil War as an intermediary.
Hans Grundberg, the United Nations special envoy for Yemen, welcomed the agreement. The suffering of the prisoners and their relatives will hopefully be alleviated, he said, speaking of a positive and meaningful step.
Civil war for ten years
The last prisoner exchange in Yemen took place in 2023. At that time, around 900 people were released, including forces from the Saudi-led military alliance deployed against the Houthis in Yemen.
The rebel group’s uprising against the Yemeni government began in the 2000s. With the military intervention of the alliance led by Saudi Arabia, the conflict grew into a civil war in 2015.
