Houthis, Yemen government exchange prisoners

Yemen’s Houthi group yesterday announced the completion of a prisoner swap deal with the Yemeni pro-government forces. The agreement was through what the militant group described as “a local mediation.”

“Sixty-six prisoners of the group’s [Houthi] fighters were released within the framework of an exchange deal with the Yemeni forces,” the Houthi-affiliated National Committee for Prisoners Affairs (NCPA) said on Facebook.

The NCPA did not provide details about the number of released prisoners in return. However, local media has reported that Houthis had released nine pro-government prisoners under the swap agreement.

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Despite an ongoing failure to reach a comprehensive solution for Yemen’s over 15,000 prisoners and detainees, experts say that a prisoner swap deals take place now and then between the warring parties.

Impoverished Yemen had remained in a state of civil war since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

In March 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up Yemen’s embattled government.

According to UN officials, more than 50,000 people have been killed in the war, while more than 11 per cent of the country’s population has been displaced.