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Cairo, April 14, (dpa/GNA) – The Yemeni government and their rival Houthi rebels began on Friday a three-day prisoner exchange operation, which will transfer nearly 900 detainees.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said a plane left government-controlled Aden carrying 125 people towards Houthi-controlled Sana’a.
Another flight left Sana’a towards Adeb carrying 35 former detainees.
The operation will include flights between six airports in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Negotiators finalized the plan in March following talks held in Switzerland.
The warring parties have committed to meet again in May to organize more releases, the United Nations said.
“This release operation comes at a time of hope for Yemen as a reminder that constructive dialogue and mutual compromises are powerful tools capable of achieving great outcomes,” the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said in a statement.
The Houthis took over the capital Sana’a and other parts of Yemen in September 2014, driving government members to flee towards the south.
Months later, the rebels advanced towards the government’s temporary seat Aden city, and Saudi Arabia formed a military coalition, which has been supporting government forces since March 2015.
The swap operation comes days after talks between the Houthis and Saudi and Omani negotiators in Sana’a, to renew a nationwide ceasefire and negotiate a peace agreement.
Last year, the UN brokered one of the longest lulls in fighting with a truce between April and October.
The UN considers Yemen’s conflict a humanitarian disaster that has pushed the country to the brink of famine.
In 2020, the ICRC facilitated a two-day swap agreement in Yemen with more than 1,000 people released over two days.
GNA
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