A massive prisoner exchange from Yemen deadly civil war began on Friday. With the first plane left rebel-held Sanaa for government-controlled Aden. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
“The first flight from Sanaa has left,” ICRC media adviser Jessica Moussan told AFP. Announcing the beginning of a three-day operation that will result in the release of over 900 captives.
According to the official, around 900 inmates, the majority of whom were fighting with Huthi rebels. The prisoner exchange between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, which heads the military coalition fighting on behalf of the ousted government.
The poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula has been at war since the Saudi-led intervention began in March 2015. Months after the Iran-backed Huthis took control of the capital, Sanaa.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, both directly and indirectly. And Yemen, according to the UN, is experiencing one of the world’s greatest humanitarian catastrophes.
According to Majid Fadael, the official spokesman for the government delegation arranging the swap, the largest since October 2020. The prisoner exchange will span three days and encompass numerous towns in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
The exchange agreement was struck days after the landmark announcement that heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran. Long at odds in the turbulent Gulf region, would seek to restore diplomatic ties after a hiatus of seven years.
Yemen’s six-month UN-brokered truce, which formally expired in October. It is still substantially in place, offering relief to a population of 30 million people who rely heavily on handouts.
According to the Saudi envoy, a Saudi delegation met with the Huthi leadership in Sanaa this week. In the hopes of “stabilizing” the truce and seeking inter-Yemeni engagement towards a “comprehensive political solution.”