NEW YORK: The Yemeni government and the Houthis have agreed to release 887 prisoners, after 10 days of talks in Geneva, the International Committee of the Red Cross and UN said on Monday.
They told the media that Yemeni government and Houthis also agreed to visit each other’s detention centres, grant the delegations complete access to all prisoners during the visits, and will hold talks again in May to discuss further detainee swaps.
Yemeni government, Houthis agree to release prisoners
The UN’s special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg described the agreement as another reason to believe developments are moving in the right direction and toward a resolution of the conflict.
Hans Grundberg said that for many Yemeni families, today is a good day and said, “I warmly congratulate all for this success. Today, many Yemeni families can look forward in order to reuniting with their loved ones”.
According to media reports, the Houthis have also agreed to release 181 prisoners, including 18 foreign citizens, in exchange for 706 detainees held by the Yemeni government. They said that the exchange of prisoners will take place in three weeks.
