RIYADH: A flight carrying 120 Huthi rebel prisoners of war departed from the southern Saudi city of Abha on Saturday morning, bound for Yemen’s rebel-controlled capital Sanaa, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed.
The prisoners’ release is part of a massive, multi-day exchange between the Huthi rebels, which has been engaged in a bloody eight-year war in Yemen.
According to ICRC’s public affairs and media adviser Jessica Moussan, the flight left before 9 am (0600 GMT), and the prisoners would be reuniting with their families before the next week’s Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
The ICRC has said that almost 900 prisoners are expected to be released as part of the prisoner swap operation.
On Friday, nearly 318 prisoners were transported on four flights between the government-controlled Aden and the Huthi-held capital, and among those freed were Yemen’s former defence minister and the ex-president’s brother.
On Saturday, at least three buses transported the prisoners to the airport in Abha, where wheelchairs were positioned to take some of the prisoners to the plane. This was the first of three flights planned for the day between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, according to the ICRC.
Diplomatic efforts to end Yemen’s war
The prisoner swap is a confidence-building measure, coinciding with an increased diplomatic push to end the war in Yemen, which has left thousands dead from the violence and knock-on effects like food insecurity and lack of access to health care.
The prisoner exchange is seen as a significant step towards ending the long-standing conflict in Yemen. The exchange comes after several rounds of UN-brokered peace talks and follows the US decision to remove the Huthi rebels from the list of designated terrorist organizations.
The move is expected to facilitate aid and diplomatic efforts to end the war and provide much-needed assistance to the Yemeni population.
