Yemeni parties agree to swap over 1,000 detainees‏

English version

اليمن العربي

Yemen's warring sides on Sunday agreed to release over 1,000 detainees and prisoners in a swap deal, the United Nations said. 

 

Delegates from Yemen's internationally recognized government and the Houthi rebels agreed to the deal as UN-sponsored talks concluded in Switzerland.

 

"Today is an important day for over a thousand families who can expect to welcome back their loved ones hopefully very soon," UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths said in a statement.

 

The two parties have seen occasional prisoner exchanges in the past but the release of over 1,081 loyalists and insurgents would be the first large-scale handover since the war began in 2014.

 

Yemen's Foreign Minister Mohammad al-Hadhrami welcomed the deal as a "humanitarian" breakthrough. However, he also tweeted that "the government demands the agreement is implemented without stalling."

 

The agreement includes the release of 681 rebels and 400 government forces and allies, AFP quoted a member of the government delegation as saying. The report added that there were 15 Saudi and four Sudanese individuals in the group.