In a major exchange deal between the Yemeni government and Houthis, a total of 800 prisoners of war were swapped on Saturday.
A total of 19 prisoners from the Coalition Forces, including 16 Saudis and three Sudanese, arrived at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh as part of the deal.
The exchange also saw about 250 Houthis leave Abha International Airport for Sana’a in Yemen as well.
Houthis release Yemeni President’s brother and former Defense Minister
The move was part of the second phase of the prisoner swap, a report by the Saudi Gazette said.
Brig. Gen Al-Maliki said the prisoner exchange process is of great concern for the political and military command of the Coalition to end the prisoner file and exchange all prisoners and detainees, the report said.
The prisoners were received at the airport by high-ranking military officials, including the Chief of the General Staff, Gen. Fayyad Al-Ruwaili, and the Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Commander of the Joint Forces, Lt. Gen. Mutlaq Al-Azima.
Al-Maliki also “appreciated the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary General to Yemen Hans Grundberg for supporting and making the swap of prisoners and detainees a great success,” the report said.
The operation began on Friday when the International Committee of the Red Cross transported 318 prisoners to and from Sana’a and Aden.
Among the 69 prisoners released by the Houthis were former Defense Minister Mahmoud Al-Subaihi and Nasser Mansour Hadi, the brother of Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
About 249 prisoners who were moved from Aden to Sana’a on two flights have been released by the Yemeni government in what is said to be the biggest prisoner exchange in years, according to Yemeni Minister of Interior Ibrahim Ali Ahmed Haydan.
The operation was initiated by Saudi Arabia and the Coalition to Support Legitimacy, and the minister stressed that the exchange will carry on to include all prisoners after Eid Al-Fitr.
“There has been greater understanding regarding the peace process after the exchange of prisoners,” he said.
The prisoner exchange operations are the result of talks concluded on March 20, 2023, in Bern, Switzerland, where the parties to the conflict in Yemen finalised the plan for the release, the report said, adding that the ICRC co-chaired these meetings with the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen.
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