15 Saudis among more than 1,000 freed in Yemen prison swap
Exchange part of deal between Saudi- backed coalition & Al Houthis
Yemen’s warring sides yesterday kicked off a long- awaited prisoner exchange, a day after the country’s Iran- backed rebels freed two Americans and released the remains of a third who had died in captivity.
The exchange is part of a UN- brokered deal between a Saudi- backed coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the rebel Al Houthi militia in the yearslong civil war. It wasn’t immediately clear if the swap was related to the freeing of the Americans the previous day but the timing of the events appeared significant.
The conflict in the Arab world’s poorest country erupted in 2014, when Al Houthis seized the capital, Sana’a, and much of the country’s north. The Saudi- led coalition, backed by the US, launched a military intervention months later to restore Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s government to power. The International Committee of the Red Cross in Yemen, which coordinated the swap that is to last through today, said five planes have so far carried a total of 484 prisoners from both sides.
“We hope this will serve as a step towards strengthening trust between the conflict parties in order to eventually reach a political solution that can put an end to the suffering of millions of Yemenis,’’ said Yara Khaweja, ICRC spokesperson in Yemen.
A TV channel broadcast the start of the swap as three planes carrying freed Al-Houthi prisoners touched down in Sana’a. Another two planes took off from Sana’a, one carrying freed Yemeni government prisoners and another carrying 15 Saudis and four Sudanese who had fought alongside government forces. The planes headed to Seyun airport in southern Yemen and Abha airport in Saudi Arabia.
A breakthrough
Last month, the UN announced that the Al Houthis and the government side had agreed to exchange more than 1,000 prisoners, marking the first phase of a prisoner- release plan reached earlier this year. The Saudi- owned Al Arabiya TV aired live footage of freed Yemeni government prisoners disembarking from their plane in Seyun airport in the eastern province of Hadhramaut, which is controlled by forces loyal to Yemen’s Saudi- backed government.
The prisoner- swap deal was seen as a breakthrough during 2018 UN- brokered peace talks in Sweden. Both parties agreed then to several confidencebuilding measures, including a ceasefire in the strategic port city of Hodeida.
Implementation of the tentative peace plan, however, stumbled amid ongoing military offensives and distrust between the two sides.