An “emotional and precious” exchange of nearly 900 prisoners involved in Yemen’s long-running war began on Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said.
The exchange, the largest since 2020, is likely to be staged over three days, and includes politicians, journalists and soldiers. On Friday, four flights carrying a total of 318 people took place between the rebel-held capital, Sana’a, and government-controlled Aden. A further 500 will be exchanged on Saturday.
The releases, organised by the ICRC in a huge logistical operation, are likely to build confidence between the parties and with the UN, Fabrizio Carboni, the charity’s regional director for the Near and Middle East, said at a briefing. He said he was sure the releases would give momentum to the renewed diplomatic efforts to negotiate a long-term ceasefire, adding that he hoped to see “way more detainees released in the future”.
Tens of thousands of Yemenis have died in the war, between a Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels backed by Iran. Six airports are being used to facilitate the exchanges, which were agreed in March in Geneva. Carboni said it was noticeable that the levels of trust between the parties had risen since 2020. “Thousands of family members will have their loved one back in their lives, many for the first time in years,” he said. “It was clear from their joy and the emotion in their voices how important this was.”
Anukha Combernous, ICRC operations coordinator for the Near and Middle East, confirmed that 318 prisoners had been released. “Daughters were reunited with fathers and brothers with brothers,” she said. “These are very precious and unique moments.”
In Sana’a, dozens of former prisoners descended from a plane to a marching band and traditional Yemeni dancers, wearing ribbons with the colours of the national flag.
After a wider reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, two of the external forces influencing the warring Yemen actors, talks on the future of the eight-year war have been staged in Sana’a between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi leadership. Those talks are predicted to establish a ceasefire that will last until the end of the year. The leadership of the internationally recognised Yemen government is waiting in Saudi Arabia to be briefed on the progress of the talks, which will resume shortly.
The conflict started in 2014 when the Houthis seized Sana’a and much of the country’s north. The government fled to the south and then into exile in Saudi Arabia.
The prisoner exchange had been scheduled to start earlier in the week, but was delayed, apparently because of logistical reasons.
The deal calls for the Houthis to release more than 180 prisoners, including Saudi and Sudanese troops fighting with the Saudi-led coalition, and four Yemeni journalists. The journalists were sentenced to death by a Houthi-controlled court in a trial described by Amnesty International as “grossly unfair”.
The deal is understood to include the release of top military officials held by the Houthis since the start of the war. Among those released on Friday were Maj Gen Mahmoud al-Subaihi, who was the defence minister when the war erupted, and Nasser Mansour Hadi, the brother of former Yemini president Abed Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Mohammed Said al-Jaber, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, visited Sana’a earlier this week as part of Oman-brokered talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, aiming to revive a nationwide ceasefire that expired in October and relaunch peace talks to end the conflict. Those talks concluded on Friday, having been “serious and positive”, said Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the chief Houthi negotiator, who added that there would be another round of talks, without giving further details.
