Yemen’s warring parties complete major prisoner swap

16 October 2020, 16:44

A Yemeni prisoner, centre, performs a traditional dance during his arrival after being released by the Saudi-led coalition (Hani Mohammed/AP)
Yemen. Picture: PA

It is hoped the move will revive peace efforts in the conflict between Houthi rebels and a military coalition.

Yemen’s warring sides completed a major, UN-brokered prisoner swap, officials said, a development that could revive the country’s stalled peace process after more than five years of grinding conflict.

This week’s prisoner release, the largest-ever in the war, marks a breakthrough in the implementation of a long-awaited deal between Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led military coalition supporting the country’s internationally recognised government.

International pressure has been building on the parties to end the war, which has killed thousands of civilians and triggered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

“We’re very happy this operation has concluded with success, regardless of how challenging it was to put it together,” said Yara Khawaja, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Yemen, which has overseen the swap.

She expressed hope it would help the warring sides overcome mistrust and restart more substantive negotiations “to end the suffering of millions of Yemenis”.

Yemeni prisoners chant slogans (Hani Mohammed/AP)
Yemeni prisoners chant slogans (Hani Mohammed/AP)

On Friday, several planes ferrying a total of 352 freed prisoners from both sides landed in Sanaa, Yemen’s rebel-held capital, and the southern port city of Aden, the seat of the internationally recognised government, according to the Red Cross.

An unprecedented 1,056 freed detainees returned home in the two-day swap, including hundreds released on Thursday.

Abdul Raqib al-Omari, director of Aden’s airport, confirmed that two planes touched down in the city a few hours apart, bringing the total number of prisoners returned to the Yemeni government on Friday to 152.

The first of those who arrived in Aden on Friday had been captured in fierce battles along Yemen’s western coastline, in the strategic port city of Hodeidah, according to officials in the city’s prisoner reception committee.

The day’s second transfer involved an undisclosed number of civilians who had been arrested at checkpoints or kidnapped from homes of relatives in the rebel-held capital during the war, they added.

Among those freed and flown to Aden on Friday was Eid Allah al-Kouli, a prominent Yemeni intellectual and author who was captured by the Houthis in Hodeidah before being imprisoned in the capital for five years, according to Ahmed Naji, a leader of Yemen’s writers’ union.

A Yemeni prisoner, centre, performs a traditional dance (Hani Mohammed/AP)
A Yemeni prisoner, centre, performs a traditional dance (Hani Mohammed/AP)

Mr Naji described Mr al-Kouli as a prisoner of conscience, targeted for his criticism of Houthi authorities.

The devastating conflict erupted in 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country’s north.

That prompted a US-backed Arab military coalition to intervene months later in a bid to restore the government of Yemeni President Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi to power.

In Sanaa, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV showed the newly freed rebels, clad in traditional white robes, stepping off the plane onto a long red carpet, where they were greeted by crowds of officials, aid workers and relatives as trumpets blared and cries of “God is great!” rang out.

They prostrated themselves on the floor, kissing the carpet.

Ahmed Hamed, a Houthi leader, promised cash bonuses to all freed prisoners and said authorities would help all unmarried men cover their wedding expenses.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

South Africa Bus Crash

Girl, 8, the sole survivor as 45 die in bus crash off South Africa bridge

A spokesman has denied reports the sausage dog could be banned.

The wurst news is over: Germany denies claims of sausage dog ban

Israel Palestinians Britain Aid

UN top court orders Israel to open more land crossings into Gaza

Greece Confidence Vote

Greece’s government survives no-confidence motion called over rail disaster

Israel Palestinians UN Security Council

Russia ‘abolishes’ monitoring of sanctions on North Korea with UN veto

Firefighters at the scene of a bus crash in Limpopo

Bus falls from bridge in South Africa and erupts into flames, killing at least 45 and leaving child, 8, as lone survivor

Music-Green Day UN

Green Day to headline UN-backed global climate concert

Sam Bankman-Fried

FTX founder Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for crypto fraud

France Valentino

Former Gucci designer Alessandro Michele named Valentino creative director

Russia Shooting

Russia arrests another suspect in concert hall attack that killed 143

American Easter egg

White House’s annual Easter egg roll to be attended by 40,000 people

Barbers in Paris

Proposal to ban discrimination over a person’s hair passes first legal hurdle

Mahmoud Abbas

Palestinian Authority names new government following pressure to reform

Arvind Kejriwal

Opposition leader Kejriwal locked up for further four days, court rules

Resident clears rubble from home

Russia wears down Ukrainian defences with missile and drone attacks

Pope Francis

Pope urges priests to avoid ‘clerical hypocrisy’ in Maundy Thursday speech