Yemen rivals reaffirm prisoner swap commitment after postponement

Yemen's internationally recognized government and the Houthi group have reaffirmed their commitment to a UN-brokered prisoner release agreement, the UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said on Saturday, following the collapse of a planned exchange.



In a statement on social media platform X, the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen said that Grundberg had received "renewed assurances" from both sides over the past 48 hours to implement the May agreement to release more than 1,600 conflict-related detainees.



He urged both sides to intensify efforts to complete "as soon as possible the outstanding technical and operational preparations" for the exchange.



The renewed commitments came after a prisoner exchange scheduled for Saturday failed to take place. On Friday, the two sides traded accusations over the failure, with the government claiming it had completed all necessary procedures while blaming the Houthis for indefinite postponement. The Houthis, in turn, said they were fully prepared but accused the government of failing to meet its obligations.