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The two parties reached an agreement in 2018 that includes the exchange of 15,000 prisoners, but it was not implemented.
The two parties to the conflict in Yemen have reached an agreement that includes the exchange of more than a thousand prisoners, after a week of talks mediated by the United Nations in Switzerland.
Under the agreement, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government will hand over 680 prisoners to the Houthis in exchange for the release of 400 prisoners, including 15 Saudis.
The two sides agreed two years ago to exchange 15,000 prisoners, but so far, only a few hundred of them have been exchanged.
“I am very pleased to announce that you have reached an important milestone,” said Martin Griffiths, UN special envoy to Yemen.
During the signing of the agreement in the Swiss town of Glion on Lake Geneva, Griffiths praised the decision taken to exchange 1,081 prisoners, which is the highest number of prisoners exchanged since the outbreak of the conflict in Yemen.
The UN envoy also congratulated the Yemeni government, backed by the Saudi-led military coalition, and the Houthi rebels for renewing their “ promises to fully implement what was reached in the Stockholm Peace Agreement ” concluded in 2018, including the exchange of 15,000 prisoners between the two parties.
Since then, the two sides have carried out sporadic and small-scale prisoner exchanges. However, this agreement, which provides for the exchange of hundreds of prisoners from government and rebel forces, if implemented, will be the first expanded prisoner exchange process between the conflict parties in Yemen since 2014.
Muhammad Ali al-Houthi, one of the leaders of the Houthis, said in a tweet on his account on the social network Twitter: “The important thing is to implement what was reached in the agreement, not just sign it.”
Agence France-Presse cited sources on both sides that the agreement is expected to enter into force within two weeks.
The talks between the Yemeni government and the Houthis were aimed at starting the exchange of 1,420 prisoners, including the brother of the current Yemeni president, Abd Rabbu Hadi Mansour.
However, a member of the Yemeni government delegation told France Press that the release of General Nasser Mansour Hadi “has been postponed.”
A committee of the Red Cross organization will monitor the return of the prisoners to their families in the next stage.
Fabrizio Carboni, the ICRC’s director of operations for the Middle East and Near East, attended the signing of the agreement and described the conclusions as “very positive”.
“The release of the prisoners will alleviate the suffering of them and their families, who have been waiting for a long time to be reunited,” Carboni said.
He added: “We are convinced that this exchange will contribute to the resumption of the peace talks on solid foundations in the right direction.”
Thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been victims of the conflict in Yemen since its inception. The United Nations describes the situation in the country as “the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.”
