Yemeni government and Houthis agree to exchange thousands of prisoners

Yemen's internationally recognised government and the Houthi rebels have signed an agreement to release thousands of detainees from both sides, the UN and the Houthis announced on Tuesday.

The group signed an agreement to implement a “large-scale” prisoner exchange deal involving 1,700 Houthi-linked prisoners in exchange for 1,200 from the government side, including seven Saudis and 23 Sudanese, Abdulqader Al Mortada, an official with the Houthi delegation, said in a statement on X.

The office of the UN envoy for Yemen said in a statement that the parties to the conflict concluded a 12-day meeting in Oman.

“Reaching an agreement over another phase of the release of conflict-related detainees is a positive and meaningful step that will hopefully ease the suffering of detainees and their families across Yemen,” UN envoy Hans Grundberg said.

“The agreement’s effective implementation will require the continued engagement and co-operation of the parties, co-ordinated regional support and sustained efforts to build on this progress toward further releases.”

Oman welcomed the agreement signed in Muscat on Tuesday and commended the “positive spirit that prevailed during the negotiations from December 9 to 23 of this year”.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it is “ready and determined” to carry out the release, transfer and repatriation of the detainees, as it had done in 2020 and 2023 when 900 and 1,000 prisoners respectively were released.

The prisoner exchange agreement comes after the Southern Transitional Council (STC) tried to sideline the government and called for a military offensive to liberate Houthi-controlled northern Yemen.

Forces loyal to the STC, which is a part of the government but wants to re-establish a separate state in south Yemen, have seized control of southern governorates in recent weeks. The STC accused the Presidential Leadership Council of failing to protect areas such as Hadhramaut and Al Mahra from extremist groups and smuggling.

The UN warned that unilateral actions would “deepen divisions, harden positions and raise the risk of wider escalation and further fragmentation”.

Yemen was plunged into civil