Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group have agreed to swap more than 1,600 prisoners in what represents the war’s most extensive detainee exchange to date, according to the United Nations special envoy’s office announced Thursday.
The fighting began when Houthi forces took control of the capital city Sanaa in 2014, leading to a Saudi-led coalition military campaign backing the government in 2015.
According to Houthi official Abdulqader al-Mortada’s statement on X, the rebel group will free 580 detainees, including seven from Saudi Arabia and 20 from Sudan, while the government will release 1,100 Houthi captives.
Both parties have committed to conducting future discussions about releasing additional prisoners and permitting reciprocal visits to detention centers. They have also established an implementation framework with the International Committee of the Red Cross to execute the prisoner release.
“The agreement includes the release of a number of coalition forces personnel, members of the armed forces and security services, fighters from various military formations and the popular resistance, as well as politicians and journalists who spent years in Houthi detention,” said Yahya Kazman, who leads the government’s negotiating team, in a post on X.
This agreement comes after 14 weeks of talks conducted in Amman, stemming from a December accord reached by both sides following United Nations-mediated discussions in Muscat, the Omani capital.
“The issue of prisoners remains at the forefront of our priorities,” stated Mahdi al-Mashat, who heads the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council, calling the agreement “a historic accomplishment.”
In April 2023, both sides conducted a significant prisoner exchange involving nearly 900 individuals, which was facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The ongoing conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and created one of the globe’s most severe humanitarian disasters.
