Yemen prisoner swap starts as truce talks set for second round

As hopes rise of an end to Yemen’s devastating eight-year war, which pits Iran-backed rebels against a Saudi-led coalition, the first planeload of 35 prisoners flew from the rebel-held capital Sanaa to government-controlled Aden, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

Another 125 prisoners took off in the opposite direction, the ICRC said. Two more flights are scheduled for the first day of the exchange, involving 322 captives. Nearly 900 will be released during the three-day operation. Large crowds gathered at both airports. In Sanaa, Mohammed Al-Qubati said: “I have been waiting for this day for five years. I’m waiting for my father and my cousin.” 

And in Aden, there were celebrations when Yemen’s former defence minister Mahmud al-Subaihi, and the brother of the ex-president, Major General Nasser Mansur Hadi, emerged from the first plane as it landed.

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The exchange and the truce negotiations in Sanaa come a month after Gulf heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties, triggering a wave of rapprochement across the troubled region.

A Saudi delegation led by ambassador Mohammed al-Jaber left Sanaa late on Thursday without a finalised truce but with plans for another round of talks, according to Huthi and Yemeni government sources.

“There is an initial agreement on a truce that should be announced later on, if finalised,” a Huthi official said on condition of anonymity, in information that was confirmed by a government source. “There is an agreement to hold another round of talks to further discuss points of difference.”  The Huthis’ chief negotiator, Mohammed Abdusalam, called the talks “serious and positive” and said he was “hoping to complete the discussion of outstanding issues at a later time”.