Houthis unveil new prisoner swap deal with govt

ADEN, Yemen — Yemen's Houthi militias unveiled on Sunday a new prisoner swap agreement with the government, raising hopes for a peaceful resolution to the country's ongoing conflict.

The move comes just hours after the Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government successfully completed a prisoner swap in which 887 prisoners and detainees from both sides were released.

Abdul-Qader al-Mortada, head of the Houthi committee for prisoners' affairs, said during a news conference held in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa that "an upcoming deal will involve the release of 700 captives in exchange for 700 prisoners from the opposing side (the government)".

However, the Houthi official did not provide details on the timing for the exchange and the signing of the deal with the government.

So far, both the Yemeni government and the International Committee of the Red Cross, or ICRC, which was responsible for transporting detainees as agreed in the just-finished swap deal, have not commented on the Houthi announcement.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia released more than 100 detainees to Yemen, the ICRC said.

Warring parties agreed at negotiations in Switzerland last month to free the nearly 900 detainees and to meet again in May to discuss further releases.

Over the past three days, the ICRC and the UN have facilitated the transportation of hundreds of prisoners between Yemeni regions and Saudi Arabia via flights.

High-profile figures, including Nasser Mansour Hadi, brother of former Yemeni president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and former defense minister Mahmoud Al Subaihi were among those who were freed.

The prisoner swap comes as part of ongoing efforts aimed at building trust between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi militia, who have been engaged in a brutal internal conflict since late 2014.

Local observers said the three-day prisoner swap has raised hope for further deals that could potentially lead to the release of all captives held by the two warring sides.

Xinhua - Agencies