Yemen, Saudi Arabia Agree New Prisoner Swap Deal in Oman, Negotiator Says

Yemen’s chief negotiator Mohammed Abdul Salam said on Tuesday that a new agreement had been reached in Muscat to exchange prisoners with Saudi Arabia and other parties, marking progress in long-running humanitarian talks linked to the Yemen war.

In a post on social media platform X, Abdul Salam said the agreement was concluded in the Omani capital following negotiations between Yemeni and Saudi representatives.

“By the grace of God, in Muscat, the capital of Oman, an agreement was reached for a prisoner exchange with the Saudi side and other parties,” Abdul Salam wrote.

He said the deal includes the release of thousands of Yemeni detainees, among them Saudi and Sudanese prisoners.

Abdul Salam thanked Oman for its extensive efforts to ensure the success of the talks and for cooperating with all sides to advance what he described as a humanitarian file.

However, he did not provide further details on how the agreement would be implemented or when it would take effect.

The announcement followed negotiations between Yemeni and Saudi parties and signaled a significant development in an issue that has affected thousands of Yemeni and Arab families after years of conflict.

Separately, the United Nations said the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the Ansarullah movement had agreed to free detainees, with officials from both sides putting the total number at nearly 3,000.

In a statement on Tuesday, UN envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said the prisoner swap deal came after nearly two weeks of talks in Muscat, which has played a mediating role in the conflict since it began in 2014.

Calling it a “positive and meaningful step,” Grundberg said the agreement would help ease the suffering of detainees and their families across Yemen.

He added that its “effective implementation will require the continued engagement and cooperation of the parties, coordinated regional support and sustained efforts to build on this progress toward further releases”.

Meanwhile, Abdulqader al-Mortada, an official with the Ansarullah delegation in Muscat, said in a statement on X that “we signed an agreement today with the other party to implement a large-scale prisoner exchange deal involving 1,700 of our prisoners in exchange for 1,200 of theirs, including seven Saudis and 23 Sudanese”.

Majed Fadhail, a member of the Saudi-backed government delegation, told AFP that the new exchange would see “thousands” of war prisoners released.

Two of the seven Saudi nationals are air force pilots, Fadhail said.

The war on Yemen began in 2015 after Saudi Arabia formed a military coalition, including the United Arab Emirates, and launched a large-scale assault with US backing.

Despite years of air strikes and blockade, the campaign failed to achieve its objectives and the conflict has been largely frozen since 2022.

The war has killed tens of thousands of people and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

According to the United Nations, nearly 20 million people across Yemen depend on aid to survive, while nearly five million remain displaced.

Source: Newswire @ Yemen, Saudi Arabia Agree New Prisoner Swap Deal in Oman, Negotiator Says – World news – Tasnim News Agency