Yemen's internationally recognized government and the Houthi group have signed a UN-brokered agreement in Jordan to exchange more than 1,600 prisoners, marking the largest such swap since the civil war began in September 2014.
Under the deal, the Houthis will release 580 prisoners including seven Saudis and 20 Sudanese, while the government will free 1,100 Houthi detainees, Houthi official Abdulqader al-Mortada said on social media Thursday.
Yahya Kazman, another official on the government's negotiating team, said on social media platform X that nearly 1,728 prisoners from both sides will be freed under what is described as the “largest” agreement to date.
The agreement was reached after more than three months of talks in the Jordanian capital Amman, following a December accord during UN-mediated consultations in Muscat, Oman.
Both sides agreed to hold further negotiations on releasing additional prisoners and allowing mutual visits to detention facilities. They also approved an implementation plan with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to conduct the release operation.
Kazman said the deal includes the release of some coalition personnel, members of the armed forces and security services, fighters from various military units and popular resistance forces, as well as politicians and journalists held by the Houthis for years.
Kazman expressed “complete solidarity” with those still detained, vowing to continue efforts alongside their families until all prisoners are freed “as part of efforts to empty the prisons.”
“The prisoner issue remains our top priority,” said Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, calling the agreement a “historic achievement.”
The Houthis praised the deal, describing it as “an important humanitarian step toward resolving the prisoner issue and alleviating the suffering of their families.” In a statement, the group affirmed its “support for all efforts leading to the release of prisoners and detainees based on the principle of 'all for all.'”
The Houthis also argued that “continued detention of prisoners violates international humanitarian law,” calling on the United Nations and “international organizations to play a more effective role in ensuring the implementation of agreements and the release of all detainees.”
The ICRC also “welcomed” the agreement between the two sides, saying it “represents an important step forward.” Christine Cipolla, head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen, said: “Today's agreement brings families closer to the reunion they have long awaited. Now that the identities of those to be released, transferred and repatriated have been agreed, the ICRC stands ready to assume its role as a neutral intermediary in carrying out these complex humanitarian operations.”
Previously, in April 2023, the two sides exchanged nearly 900 prisoners in a large operation coordinated by the ICRC.
The conflict in Yemen erupted after the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military coalition to intervene in support of the government the following year. The civil war has killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed much of Yemen's infrastructure, and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
