Prisoners released in landmark exchange between Ansarullah and Saudis

Scores of prisoners of war, including Saudis, have been freed as part of a cross-border exchange between a Saudi-led military coalition and Yemen’s Ansarullah movement, the International Committee of the Red Cross says.  

The exchange on Saturday was part of a multi-day transfer involving nearly 900 detainees, that comes amid peace talks which have raised hopes for an end to an eight-year-old war on Yemen.

The flight from the southern Saudi city of Abha took off before 9 a.m. local time (0600 GMT), carrying 120 former detainees who headed for Yemen’s capital Sana’a, ICRC spokeswoman Jessica Moussan said.

It was followed by a flight from Sana’a to Riyadh carrying 20 former detainees, among them 16 Saudis and three Sudanese, that landed around midday local time, according to the state-affiliated al-Ekhbariya channel.

“The release operations are the result of talks concluded on March 20, 2023 in Bern, Switzerland, where the parties to the conflict in Yemen finalized the plan for the release. The ICRC co-chaired these meetings with the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen,” the ICRC said.

Fabrizio Carboni, the ICRC’s regional director for the Near and Middle East, noted, “With this act of goodwill, hundreds of families torn apart by conflict are being reunited during the holy month of Ramadan, a glimmer of hope amidst great suffering.”

“Our deep desire is that these releases provide momentum for a broader political solution, leading to even more detainees returning to their loved ones,” he added.

The development comes a day after the Saudi-backed Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council and Ansarullah movement exchanged 322 prisoners, marking a significant confidence-building measure and a major step toward peace in the warn-torn Arab country.

A total of 72 prisoners were sent from Sana’a airport to Aden airport on board two flights, and 250 Ansarullah captives on two flights from Aden to Sana’a.

High-profile figures, including Nasser Mansour Hadi, brother of former Yemeni president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and Mahmoud al-Subeihi, former defense minister in the deposed government, were among those being freed.

After the planes touched down at Aden airport, the families of the released prisoners shed tears of joy and greeted their loved ones.

“The exchange of prisoners is a positive step. We hope that all captives will eventually be released and the search for the missing will begin with a positive outcome. This is an important step in the humanitarian process as well as a big step towards peace,” Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, Chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of Yemen, said.

All parties to the conflict in Yemen agreed at negotiations in Switzerland last month to free 887 detainees and to meet again in May to discuss further releases. The deal was overseen by the United Nations envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, and the ICRC.