Yemen's Houthis and government say prisoner exchange deal reached

20/3/2023 18:59

        The two sides in Yemen's conflict on Monday said they had agreed to exchange some 880 detainees after talks in Switzerland facilitated by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
        
        The head of the Yemeni government delegation told Reuters around 880 detainees would be exchanged.
        
        Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group said it would release 181 detainees, including 15 Saudi and three Sudanese, in exchange for 706 prisoners from the government, according to statements on Twitter by the head of the Houthis' prisoner affairs committee Abdul Qader al-Murtada and the group's chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam.
        
        The U.N. and ICRC did not immediately confirm that a deal had been reached.
        
        There is hope that a deal could facilitate broader efforts to end the conflict, which have been helped by the resumption of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia this month.