Sanaa welcoming third, last batch of liberated prisoners

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen Net
16 Apr 2023 12:47

The International Committee of the Red Cross tells Al Mayadeen that on Sunday, five flights between Sanaa and Marib will take place to transport prisoners.

Liberated Yemeni prisoners gesture as they disembark upon arriving at Sanaa airport on April 15, 2023 (AFP)

Al Mayadeen correspondent in Sanaa reported that 48 liberated prisoners arrived at Sanaa airport from Marib airport on the first flights of the third day of the prisoner exchange deal in Yemen.

According to our correspondent, Sanaa International Airport is set to receive on Saturday the third and last batch of prisoners, which includes 105 prisoners from Marib prisons.

The International Committee of the Red Cross told Al Mayadeen that on Sunday, five flights between Sanaa and Marib will take place to complete the transport of prisoners.

Al Mayadeen correspondent confirmed that the first ICRC plane carrying 41 prisoners took off from Sanaa International Airport, heading toward Marib, northeastern Yemen. Another plane carrying 48 prisoners will head in the opposite direction.

The ICRC confirmed that by the end of this day, it will have completed the release of all the detainees agreed upon as per the Swiss negotiations.

The Committee highlighted that during the past two days, it was able to transfer and return 675 detainees home.

On Friday, a massive prisoner exchange between Yemen and Saudi Arabia began, with the first plane leaving Sanaa for Aden, according to the ICRC.

ICRC media advisor Jessica Moussan told AFP that the first plane had officially left Sanaa in a 3-day process that will see the release of roughly 900 prisoners.

The leader of the Ansar Allah movement, Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi, congratulated "the families of the liberated prisoners on their recent freedom," assuring the rest of the prisoners' families that "work continues to complete the exchange process until the liberation of all prisoners is achieved."

The exchange of prisoners between Sanaa and Riyadh comes as part of the implementation of the agreement reached in talks between the parties to the Yemeni conflict in the Swiss capital Bern last March.

Sanaa: Negotiations with Saudi, Omani delegations were positive

In a related context, the head of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, Mahdi Al-Mashat, described the discussions with the Saudi delegation that were conducted on Saturday in Sanaa as "positive".

The meeting took place in the presence of an Omani mediation team and included members of the Supreme Political Council, the Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security Affairs, and the ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense.

Al-Mashat confirmed that "it was agreed to hold a new round of talks after Eid Al-Fitr, given the nature of the issues that were discussed."

He also warned that "Yemen has the upper and stronger hand" in case the "coalition of aggression - backed by the United States - considers resuming military confrontations and obstructing peace steps."

'Positive and constructive'

The Saudi delegation which traveled to Sanaa last week and was headed by the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen returned to Riyadh on Thursday night despite not having reached a final agreement. However, the delegation revealed that the Ansar Allah movement has agreed to meet for another round of negotiations in the near future.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry commented on Friday on the results of the visit stating that the meetings with Sanaa "included in-depth discussions on a number of issues related to the humanitarian situation, including the release of all prisoners as well as reaching a cease-fire and a comprehensive political solution in Yemen."

The Ministry also revealed that the negotiating team's meetings in Sanaa were transparent, positive, and constructive, noting that the Saudi delegation's visit to Sanaa is an extension of "the Saudi initiative and the positive momentum provided by the UN armistice."

It was also specified that these meetings will be resumed as soon as possible "with the aim of achieving a comprehensive and sustainable political solution accepted by all Yemeni parties."

An official in the Ansar Allah movement, cited by AFP, stated that "there is an initial agreement on a truce that should be announced later on if finalized" and confirmed that "there is an agreement to hold another round of talks to further discuss points of difference."