Fri 14 Apr 2023:
As peace negotiations between Saudi envoys and Houthi rebels ramp up, the release and swap of over 900 detainees by the two sides in Yemen’s conflict has started.
The inmates will be transported between six locations in Yemen and Saudi Arabia using ICRC flights, according to a statement made on Friday. ICRC is overseeing the prisoner exchange.
“With this act of goodwill, hundreds of families torn apart by conflict are being reunited … Our deep desire is that these releases provide momentum for a broader political solution,” said Fabrizio Carboni, the ICRC’s regional director for the Near and Middle East.
Warring parties agreed at negotiations in Switzerland last month to free 887 detainees and to meet again in May to discuss further releases. The deal was overseen by the United Nations envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, and the ICRC.
Negotiators had hoped for an “all for all” deal involving all remaining detainees during the 10 days of talks.
The negotiations were the latest in a series of meetings that led to the release of prisoners in 2022 and 2020 under a UN-mediated deal known as the Stockholm Agreement.
Speaking from Yemen’s capital Sanaa, Houthi affairs analyst Hussain al-Bukhaiti told Al Jazeera he expected a flurry of prisoner swaps in the coming months.
“The visit of the Saudi ambassador to Sanaa has moved this [issue of] prisoner exchanges,” said al-Bukhaiti, in reference to Saudi ambassador Mohamed al-Jaber’s trip with a delegation from Oman on Monday in an attempt to reach a comprehensive political solution in Yemen.
“Sanaa has sent a clear message to Saudi Arabia that it is ready for a full prisoner exchange on both sides, which could be about 15,000 prisoners. If this prisoner exchange [Friday’s] goes as planned, I believe after Ramadan another deal will be struck to release all prisoners,” al-Bukhaiti said.
Political analyst Moneef Ammash Alharbi told Al Jazeera the POW exchange was taking place between Saudi Arabia and the “legitimate Yemeni government” – which Riyadh supports – rather than with the Houthis.
He explained the swap was the start of a more comprehensive peace plan between warring parties in Yemen.
A Yemen peace plan would consist of three phases with the first involving “a truce and the re-opening of airports, roads and seaports”, he said.
“The second phase would involve a political dialogue to reach an agreement among all the political parties. The third phase would be a transitional period that will last for two years,” Alharbi said.
Millions of people have been left hungry and tens of thousands have died as a result of the battle in Yemen, which is largely believed to be a proxy fight between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
After the Houthis, who are allied with Iran, toppled the government from Sanaa in 2014, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen in 2015.
With the restoration of diplomatic connections between Riyadh and Tehran last month, which were cut in 2016, there is hope for advancement in the peace process in Yemen.
The Houthi movement and a Saudi team wrapped up peace negotiations on Thursday in Sanaa; the movement’s representatives noted progress but stated that additional talks were required to resolve outstanding issues.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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