Yemen's warring sides begin 3-day prisoner swap

The Yemeni government and their rival Houthi rebels on Friday, began a three-day prisoner exchange operation, which would transfer nearly 900 detainees.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said a plane left government-controlled Aden carrying 125 people toward Houthi-controlled Sana’a.

Another flight left Sana’a toward Adeb carrying 35 former detainees.

The operation would include flights between six airports in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Negotiators finalised the plan in March, following talks held in Switzerland.

The warring parties had committed to meet again in May to organise more releases, the United Nations said.

“This release operation comes at a time of hope for Yemen as a reminder that constructive dialogue and mutual compromises are powerful tools capable of achieving great outcomes,” the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said in a statement.

The Houthis took over the capital Sana’a and other parts of Yemen in September 2014, driving government members to flee toward the south.

Months later, the rebels advanced toward the government’s temporary seat Aden city, and Saudi Arabia formed a military coalition, which had been supporting government forces since March 2015.

The swap operation came days after talks between the Houthis and Saudi and Omani negotiators in Sana’a, to renew a nationwide ceasefire and negotiate a peace agreement.

In 2022, the UN brokered one of the longest lulls in fighting with a truce between April and October.

The UN considered Yemen’s conflict a humanitarian disaster that had pushed the country to the brink of famine.

In 2020, the ICRC facilitated a two-day swap agreement in Yemen with more than 1,000 people released over two days.