UN Calls for Release of All Arbitrary Detainees Amid Major Yemen Prisoner Swap Agreement
Yemen Monitor/ New York/ Agencies:
A UN official stated on Thursday that the United Nations welcomes the agreement reached between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group to release more than 1,600 detainees.
UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters: “We welcome this major breakthrough in efforts to secure the release of conflict-related detainees.”
Haq added: “The parties to the conflict in Yemen have agreed to release more than 1,600 detainees, which is the largest deal of its kind since the beginning of the conflict,” explaining that the agreement was the result of 14 weeks of intensive negotiations held under UN auspices in Jordan.
The UN official continued: “We continue to call for the release of all those arbitrarily detained by the Houthis, including UN staff, NGO employees, members of civil society, and diplomatic missions, as well as their family members.”
For its part, the Yemeni government announced on Thursday the signing of the “largest” prisoner exchange deal with the Houthi group, involving 1,728 detainees from both sides.
Yemen has witnessed a notable decrease in the intensity of violence since April 2022, following a war that broke out more than 11 years ago between government forces and Houthi fighters, who have controlled several provinces and cities, including the capital, Sana’a, since September 2014.
It is worth noting that the war has destroyed a large part of Yemen’s infrastructure and caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, amid ongoing efforts by the United Nations to push the peace process forward.
