Yemen prisoner swap starts as truce talks set for second round

SANAA: Hundreds of captives from Yemen´s brutal civil war were reunited with friends and family as a major prisoner swap started on Friday, hours after truce talks broke up with an agreement to meet again.

As hopes rise of an end to Yemen´s devastating eight-year war, which pits Iran-backed rebels against a Saudi-led coalition, 318 prisoners flew on four flights between government-controlled Aden and the Huthi-held capital, Sanaa.

Sixty-nine flew from Sanaa to Aden, and another 249 went in the opposite direction, on the first day of a three-day operation that will see the release of nearly 900 detainees, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

Large crowds gathered at both airports. In Sanaa, Mohammed Al-Qubati said: “I have been waiting for this day for five years. I´m waiting for my father and my cousin.”

In Aden, there were celebrations when Yemen´s former defence minister Mahmud al-Subaihi, and the brother of the ex-president, Major General Nasser Mansur Hadi, emerged from the first plane.

The exchange and the truce negotiations in Sanaa come a month after Gulf heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties, sparking a wave of rapprochement across the troubled region.

A Saudi delegation led by ambassador Mohammed al-Jaber left Sanaa late on Thursday without a finalised truce but with plans for another round of talks, according to Huthi and Yemeni government sources.

“There is an initial agreement on a truce that should be announced later on, if finalised,” a Huthi official said on condition of anonymity. The information was confirmed by a government source.

The Huthis´ chief negotiator, Mohammed Abdusalam, called the talks “serious and positive” and said he was “hoping to complete the discussion of outstanding issues at a later time”. The rebels seized Sanaa in 2014, forcing the internationally recognised government to flee and triggering the Saudi-led military intervention the following March.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed by direct and indirect causes in a war that has resulted in one of the world´s worst humanitarian crises, according to the United Nations. However, a six-month, UN-brokered truce that officially lapsed in October is still largely holding as diplomatic efforts increase for a renewed ceasefire. Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy for Yemen, hailed the prisoner release ahead of next week´s Muslim holiday of Eidul-Fitr.

“Today, hundreds of Yemeni families get to celebrate Eid with their loved ones because the parties negotiated and reached an agreement,” he said in a statement. “I hope this spirit is reflected in ongoing efforts to advance a comprehensive political solution. Thousands more families are still waiting to be reunited with their loved ones.”