Yemen Warring Sides Agree to Major Prisoner Swap after UN-Mediated Talks
Thousands of detainees to be freed as government and Houthis reach deal in Oman
Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Houthi group have reached an agreement to carry out a large-scale prisoner exchange, the United Nations announced on Tuesday, calling the move a significant step toward easing humanitarian suffering.
The deal was finalised after nearly two weeks of talks in Muscat, Oman, which has been acting as a mediator in Yemen’s long-running conflict that began in 2014.
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg described the agreement as a “positive and meaningful step” that will help relieve the suffering of detainees and their families across the country. He stressed, however, that the success of the exchange will depend on continued cooperation between the parties, regional support, and sustained efforts toward further releases.
According to Abdulqader al-Mortada, a senior Houthi official involved in the negotiations, the agreement includes the release of 1,700 Houthi detainees in exchange for 1,200 prisoners held by the government, among them seven Saudi nationals—including two air force pilots—and **23 Sudanese detainees.
A member of the government delegation, Majed Fadhail, confirmed that the exchange would involve “thousands” of war prisoners, describing the deal as one of the largest such agreements since the conflict began.
The prisoner swap is being viewed as a rare breakthrough in Yemen’s stalled peace process and a potential confidence-building measure toward broader negotiations to end the war.
