Yemen announces conclusion of latest prisoner exchange talks

The head of Yemen’s National Committee for Prisoners has announced the end of discussions on Yemen’s prisoners' file in the Omani capital, with the resolution of the case of the leader of the Islah party and the exchange of prisoner lists.

Abdul Qader al-Murtada, head of the National Committee for Prisoner Affairs, in a statement on Sunday, announced the completion of the round of negotiations on the prisoners' file in Muscat under the auspices of the United Nations, according to the Saba News Agency.

Al-Murtada said that important issues such as the release of Mohammed Qahtan, leader of the Islah party and politician close to the Saudi-led coalition, as well as exchanging the list of prisoners were agreed in this negotiation.

He pointed out that negotiations will resume in two months as both parties agreed to focus on finalizing the submission of documents and ensuring their accuracy before the next round, citing time constraints.

The seven-day talks were conducted under the auspices of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to break the one-year deadlock on the Yemeni prisoner exchange case.

Yemen’s National Salvation Government has not confirmed if Qahtan is dead or alive, a Saudi-led coalition negotiator, who did not want to be named, told Reuters.

Qahtan, whose Islah party is a powerful member of the Saudi-backed government, was detained by the Ansarullah in 2015.

Earlier, al-Murtada stated that If Qahtan is dead, his body would be traded for 50 Ansarullah bodies in government possession and if he is alive he will be exchanged for 50 live Ansarullah members in the resigned-government custody.

US-British coalition conducts airstrike on Yemen’s largest island in Red Sea

Warplanes of the US-British coalition launch an airstrike against Yemen’s largest island in the Red Sea, with no immediate reports about damage and possible casualties.

The United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg on Wednesday announced that negotiations between the aggressor coalition and Yemen's popular resistance Houthi Ansarullah movement have achieved significant progress regarding the release of conflict-related detainees, including a prominent Yemeni politician.

Hundreds of prisoners from both sides have been released until now, with the last major release having taken place in April 2023, facilitated by the ICRC and the UN, in which the two sides exchanged around 877 detainees after negotiations in Switzerland.

Efforts to exchange captives in Yemeni-Yemeni dialogues in Switzerland have consistently faced challenges, with success achieved only in a few instances through local mediation.

Saudi-led coalition prevent exchange of over 2,000 prisoners despite UN-brokered deal: official

The head of the National Committee for Prisoner Affairs says the Saudi-led coalition prevents the exchange of more than 2,000 prisoners despite the UN-mediated swap agreement in March.

Saudi Arabia launched the bloody war against Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with a number of its allies and with arms and logistics support from the US and several Western states to reinstall Hadi, who resigned from the presidency in late 2014 and later fled to Riyadh amid a political conflict with the popular Ansarullah movement.

The war objective was also to crush the Ansarullah movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of an effective government in Yemen.

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