Yemen warring parties agree to exchange at least 1,600 prisoners

Yemen's warring parties agreed on Thursday to release a total of 1,600 conflict-related prisoners during a U.N.-sponsored meeting in Amman.

The agreement between the Houthis, who control Yemen's north, and the Saudi-supported internationally recognised government comes despite high tensions between Tehran and Riyadh over the war in the Middle East.

"The parties agreed today to release over 1,600 conflict-related detainees, an unprecedented number in the history of the current conflict in Yemen," U.N. special envoy Hans Grundberg said after the meeting.

"This outcome is the result of 15 weeks of intensive negotiations under the auspices of the U.N. in Amman, Jordan," he added.

"This is a moment of profound relief for thousands of Yemenis who have endured long and painful waits for the return of their family members. The steadfast and courageous advocacy of the families of detainees has been instrumental in bringing us to this point."

The spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthi rebels, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, meanwhile, said that the warring parties had agreed to release 1,750 prisoners, including 27 prisoners and detainees from the coalition forces, among them seven Saudis, the Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

More than 1,000 prisoners were exchanged in 2020 and about 900 in 2023, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Yemen's civil war, which triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, raged from 2014 until 2022, when a U.N.-brokered truce calmed the fighting.

The ICRC, which will organise the release as a neutral intermediary, called it a "crucial step forward."

"Today's agreement has brought families closer to the reunifications they have been so anxiously waiting for," said Christine Cipolla, the ICRC's head of delegation in Yemen.

"We count on all parties to extend their full cooperation so that we can begin preparations to implement the agreement and ensure the process runs smoothly."

AFP