Al-Houthi congratulates freed prisoners from deal with Saudis
3 Min Read
Ansar Allah leader Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi congratulates the freed Yemeni prisoners and their families on their newly obtained freedom.
-
Yemeni prisoners sit after they landed at Sanaa airport, April 14, 2023 (AP)
Ansar Allah leader Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addressed the Yemeni people on Al-Quds Day to congratulate them on the success of the prisoner exchange deal with Riyadh.
Al-Houthi thanked the "dear Yemeni people for their massive rallying, which is a reflection of their stance on Al-Quds Day."
"I congratulate our brothers, the freed prisoners, and their families for their newly obtained freedom, and we assure the remaining families of prisoners of war that we are still working on liberating the remaining prisoners and completing the prisoner exchange deal until every last prisoner is freed," the Yemeni leader stressed.
A massive prisoner exchange between Yemen and Saudi Arabia began on Friday, with the first plane leaving Sanaa for Aden, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
ICRC media advisor Jessica Moussan told AFP that the first plane had officially left Sanaa in a 3-day process that will release roughly 900 prisoners, most of whom were fighting with the Sanaa government forces.
More than 300 Yemeni detainees flew between the two cities. Detainees were set for release later in Marib and Mokha, as well as Riyadh and Abha in neighboring Saudi Arabia.
The exchange demonstrates a reduction in tensions following a visit from a Saudi delegation to Sanaa to meet with high-ranking officials from the Ansar Allah movement to discuss further details of the ceasefire agreement.
The war on Yemen has led to one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises and left more than 200,000 civilian casualties.
The prisoner exchange, the biggest since October 2020, will span three days and multiple Yemeni and Saudi cities, said Majid Fadael, the official spokesperson for the delegation negotiating the exchange.
Sanaa authorities will release 181 prisoners, including Saudis and Sudanese, in exchange for 706 that the parties to the aggression have been holding, an agreement reached last month in Switzerland stipulated.
Representatives of the Yemeni Ansar Allah and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government kicked off in March talks in Geneva for an exchange of prisoners, with the UN urging both sides to engage in "serious" discussions.
The new round of closed-door negotiations was overseen by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
