2 yıl önce

Plane flies rebels from Saudi Arabi to Yemen on day two of prisoner swap

Recent diplomatic rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran has paved the way for the swap of nearly 900 detainees held by rival forces in war-torn Yemen.

Reuters

Relatives react as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)-chartered plane lands carrying freed prisoners, at Sanaa Airport, amid a prisoner swap between two sides in the Yemen conflict, in Sanaa, Yemen on Saturday.

A flight carrying Houthi rebel prisoners of war left Saudi Arabia bound for Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said.

The flight from the southern Saudi city of Abha took off before 9 am (0600 GMT) on Saturday carrying 120 former detainees, ICRC public affairs and media adviser Jessica Moussan said.

Photos published by news agencies later showed the prisoners landing in Sanaa.

The flights are part of a large-scale, multi-day exchange that comes as peace talks have raised hopes for an end to Yemen's eight-year-old war between Iran-backed rebels and a Saudi-led coalition.

Nearly 900 detainees are expected to be released as part of the operation, the ICRC has said.

On Friday, 318 prisoners were transported on four flights between government-controlled Aden and the Houthi-held capital, reuniting with their families ahead of next week's Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Yemen's former defence minister as well as the brother of the ex-president were among those freed.

Day 2 of release operations update: Our first plane carrying 120 former detainees has taken off from #Abha #SaudiArabia and is en route to #Sanaa, accompanied by @ICRC teams.
Stay tuned for more updates. pic.twitter.com/nV11A8jhys
— ICRC Yemen (@ICRC_ye) April 15, 2023

Confidence-building measure

On Saturday, at least three buses in Saudi Arabia took the prisoners to the airport in Abha, which has previously come under attack from Houthi drones and missiles.

Wheelchairs were positioned near the buses to take some of the prisoners to the plane.

It was the first of three flights planned for Saturday between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, according to the ICRC.

Sixteen Saudis and three Sudanese were expected to be transferred from Sanaa to Riyadh on Saturday, Majid Fadail, spokesman for the government delegation negotiating the exchange, said on Friday.

In addition, 100 Houthis were due to be flown on three flights to Sanaa from Mokha on the Red Sea coast, a town held by the coalition-backed government.

The prisoner exchange is a confidence-building measure coinciding with an intense diplomatic push to end Yemen's war, which has left hundreds of thousands dead from the violence as well as knock-on effects like food insecurity and lack of access to health care.

SOURCE: AFP