Yemen prisoner swap expected on Friday, government official says

Majid Fadhil confirmed to The National that 887 captives will be released in three-day operation

From left, Houthi representative Abdul-Qader el-Murtaza, the UN's Hans Grundberg, and Yemen's Yahya Mohammed Kazman after a detainee-exchange meeting. AP

Yemen's warring sides are expected to begin a prisoner swap operation on Friday, a top government official told The National on Wednesday, as preparations began to release nearly 900 detainees.

The process will be facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has been arranging the transfer and safety of the detainees.

The operations are a result of the talks between Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Houthi rebels that took place in Switzerland last month led by UN special envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg and the ICRC.

"On Friday morning the swap operations are set to start, we were supposed to begin on Thursday but due to technical difficulties it got postponed for an extra day," Yemen's Deputy Human Rights Minister Majed Fadhil, who is part of the negotiating committee, told The National on Wednesday.

"We have a final confirmation from all sides," Mr Fadhil said.

The process will last for three days and is expected to end on Sunday. The detainees will pass through six airports. This was arranged by the ICRC, he said.

"The flights will take off and land between, firstly: Sanaa-Aden and then Mocha-Sanaa and Sanaa-Tadawin, Sanaa-Riyadh and Abha and Sanaa," he said.

The ICRC is yet to comment on the development.

By the end of the process it is expected that 887 captives will be released as both sides agreed during talks in Switzerland last month.

The prominent detainees that will be released by the Iran-backed Houthis are Nasser Mansour Hadi, brother to Yemen's former president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, former defence minister Mahmoud Al Subaihi, and Mohammad Abdullah Saleh, brother to Yemen's vice president Tareq Mohammad Abdullah Saleh.

The UN-led talks last month came as international efforts to end the protracted conflict have increased in recent months.

Saudi Arabia sent its ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al Jaber, to hold discussions with the Houthis on Monday. Mr Al Jaber was accompanied by a delegation from Oman to revise a truce with the rebels and "reach a comprehensive political solution".

He said he was hoping to help end the crisis in Yemen and support the 2021 Saudi Initiative to reach a comprehensive political solution in the country.

“The kingdom’s government and people have always stood with our brothers in Yemen during dire political and economic circumstances and crises,” he said on Twitter on Monday.

“Since 2011, these brotherly efforts have continued to achieve the aspirations of the brotherly people of Yemen to restore security, stability and economic prosperity.”

In 2014, Yemen's capital Sanaa was taken over by the Iran-backed Houthis. They ousted the internationally recognised government and pushed them to request for Saudi Arabia's intervention on their behalf to restore its power.