Yemen: Warring factions begin prisoner exchanges

In civil war-ravaged Yemen, the government and Houthi rebels have begun exchanging about 900 prisoners. The transfer of all people will take three days, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced on Friday.

Those affected were previously examined for their fitness to travel. A first plane from the port city of Aden with 125 people on board is already on its way to the capital Sanaa. Another machine carrying 35 ex-convicts also left Sanaa for Aden. The agreement on the exchange of prisoners was preceded by negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva.

In 2020, the Red Cross facilitated the largest prisoner exchange to date. At that time, more than 1000 prisoners were released within two days. Now the Houthi rebels must release about 180 prisoners, some from Saudi Arabia and Sudan. In return, the government, on whose side Saudi Arabia fights the Houthis, will release about 700 prisoners. In addition, high-ranking military representatives of the government and several journalists will be released.

Thanks to the compromise between the government and the Houthis, hundreds of families can now celebrate the end of the fasting month of Ramadan (Eid al-Fitr) together, UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg stressed. He called on both sides to release all prisoners in the course of the conflict. “Thousands of families are still waiting to be reunited with their loved ones.”

Yemen is located in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. Iran-backed Houthi rebels conquered the impoverished country in 2014. Today they dominate large parts of the north, including the capital Sanaa. All attempts to find a lasting solution to the conflict in Yemen have so far failed. However, the recent rapprochement between the two rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran now raises hopes for a breakthrough. At a recent meeting with representatives from Saudi Arabia, the Shia Houthi rebels openly called for an end to the civil war.

(yam/sda/dpa)