Yemeni government, Houthi rebels reach prisoner swap deal

By Shukri Hussein

SANAA, Yemen (AA) – The Yemeni government on Monday announced a prisoner swap deal with Houthi rebels.

“An agreement has been reached to free 887 prisoners from both sides,” Undersecretary for Human Rights Majid Fada'el told Anadolu.

He said four journalists and a number of security and military officials will be released under the deal. He explained that a brother of former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and former Defense Minister Mahmoud Sobeih will also be freed.

Talks for a prisoner swap between the two rivals began last week in Switzerland under the UN auspices.

There was no confirmation of the deal yet from the Houthi group.

Last year, the two warring rivals signed a UN-brokered deal to free 2,000 prisoners, but their release was disrupted amid accusations of each party to the other of violating the agreement.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar