Yemeni warring parties agree to swap more than 880 prisoners

The Yemeni government and the Houthi militia on Monday said they have agreed to swap more than 880 prisoners, including 15 Saudi nationals.

Majid Fadail, a member of the government’s negotiation team, in a statement posted Monday on Twitter said “the deal includes more than 880 prisoners and abductees.

“We have now concluded the round of negotiations on the issue of prisoners and abductees in Berne, Switzerland.”

The official stated the deal included the release of four journalists sentenced to death by the Houthis, several prisoners of war from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in the Yemeni civil war, and relatives of some senior Yemeni officials.

Nasser Mansour, the brother of former President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, was also on the swap list, Fadail said.

Abdulkadir al-Murtada, head of the Houthi prisoner committee, was quoted by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV as saying that the swap agreement comprises 706 Houthi members and 181 prisoners from the opposing side.

According to the report, the 181 detainees include 15 Saudi citizens and three Sudanese nationals from the Saudi-led coalition.

Al-Murtada said “the deal was agreed to be implemented within the next three weeks,” adding that the deal was the first step towards an all-for-all exchange agreement.

If implemented, the swap deal would be the largest of its kind in more than two years after the warring sides made a successful swap in October 2020 of more than 1,000 prisoners.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa.

The war has killed thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed Yemen to the brink of starvation.