Yemen Government, Houthis Agree to Release Over 1,600 Prisoners in Largest Swap

Yemen Government, Houthis Agree to Release Over 1,600 Prisoners in Largest Swap
———————————
Yemen’s government and the Houthi movement have agreed to release more than 1,600 detainees, marking the largest prisoner swap since the civil war began in 2014. The UN-backed deal, finalized in Amman, Jordan, follows months of negotiations and earlier UN-facilitated talks in Muscat.

Under the agreement, the Houthis will free 580 prisoners, including seven Saudis and 20 Sudanese, while the government will release 1,100 Houthi detainees, confirmed Houthi official Abdulqader al-Mortada. Yahya Kazman, deputy head of the government negotiating team, said the swap includes future discussions on additional releases and mutual prison visits, coordinated with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The detainees include military personnel, coalition forces, politicians, journalists, and resistance fighters. The ICRC described the deal as a “crucial step forward” for families separated by years of detention, while the Houthis highlighted the humanitarian importance and called for continued UN oversight.

This exchange follows a previous April 2023 swap of nearly 900 prisoners. Yemen’s civil war, triggered by the Houthi seizure of Sanaa in 2014 and subsequent Saudi-led intervention, has caused tens of thousands of deaths and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Both sides have pledged to continue dialogue to secure the release of remaining detainees and ease the humanitarian impact on families.