Houthis say the prisoner swap deal includes 16 Saudis, the Yemeni president’s brother

FILE PHOTO: Freed Houthi prisoners pray as they arrive at Sana’a Airport in Yemen after being released on a prisoner exchange October 15, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo

March 27, 2022

CAIRO (Reuters) – A prisoner exchange deal was agreed this month by Yemen’s Houthi movement and the country’s internationally recognized government, which is backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, a Houthi official said on Sunday.

Abdul Qader al-Mortada said on Twitter that the deal, under UN auspices, includes 1,400 Houthi prisoners in exchange for 823 prisoners, including 16 Saudis, three Sudanese prisoners, Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s brother and former defense ministers Mahmoud al-Subaihi.

Mortada, chairman of the Houthis’ national committee on prisoner affairs, added that the two parties would exchange prisoner lists on Tuesday.

However, an official in Hadi’s internationally recognized government said no final agreement had been reached.

“The issue is being discussed. When final approval is obtained, a formal note will be sent to the office of the (UN) Envoy and published,” said Hadi Haig, head of the government delegation to the prisoner talks.

A senior official at the office of the UN envoy to Yemen also said no final agreement had been reached between the parties.

The war in Yemen between the Iran-allied Houthi group and the Saudi-led military coalition is entering its eighth year, and violence has escalated in recent months. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, and threatened millions with starvation and disease.

On Saturday, the Houthis said they would suspend missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia for three days in a peace initiative that could be a permanent commitment if the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen halts airstrikes and port restrictions cancels.

They also expressed their willingness to release all prisoners, including Hadi’s brother.

(Reporting by Yasmin Hussein and Mohammed Ghobari, Editing by William Maclean and Pravin Char)