Houthis ready to finalize prisoner swap agreement with no preconditions

The Iran-backed Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement has expressed its readiness to finalize a comprehensive prisoner exchange deal with the Yemeni government.

Abdulkader al-Murtaza, head of the Houthi movement's Captives Committee, stated in an interview with the movement's official website, ALTHAWRAH, that they are open to dialogue without any preconditions, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media sources.

"We are ready to honour all previously signed agreements under the auspices of the United Nations without restrictions and to conclude a comprehensive agreement covering all captives from both sides, without exceptions," al-Murtaza said. He also called upon local sheikhs and respected members of society to mediate and help facilitate the process.

There have been multiple prisoner exchanges in the past between the Yemeni government forces and the Houthis across various fronts, but the exact number of prisoners held on both sides remains unclear.

Earlier, on November 24, progress was reported in talks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, which backs the internationally recognized Yemeni government. Hussein al-Azzi, deputy foreign minister in the rebel-formed interim government, confirmed the advancement.

"Sanaa and Riyadh have taken an important step towards peace and demonstrated their joint determination to achieve this noble goal," al-Azzi wrote on X (formerly Twitter). He added that both sides "will not allow any member of the [Arabian] coalition to hinder this process." For peace to be achieved in Yemen, al-Azzi emphasized that it is also necessary for the United States to reconsider its position against the Houthis.

The conflict between government forces and Ansar Allah supporters has been ongoing in Yemen since August 2014 and escalated after Saudi Arabia led a coalition invasion in March 2015. In April 2022, a truce was agreed upon, though it expired on October 2. In September 2023, talks between the Ansar Allah delegation and Saudi representatives in Riyadh led to some progress, according to Reuters. The discussions focused on key issues such as the withdrawal of foreign forces from Yemen and providing social guarantees for people in Houthi-controlled areas. The Saudi Foreign Ministry praised the outcomes of these talks.

On May 26, 2024, Ansar Allah released 113 prisoners unilaterally, including members of the Yemeni government forces. These prisoners were handed over to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Sana'a. In June, during talks in Muscat, an agreement was made for the release of 50 rebel prisoners by government forces in exchange for Mohammed Qahtan, a leader of the Yemeni Islamist party Al-Islah, who had been captured by the Houthis in 2015.

On July 22, the Yemeni government and Ansar Allah reached an agreement to lift banking restrictions, resume Yemenia Airways flights from Sana'a to Jordan three times a week, and launch new flights from Sana'a to Egypt and India. Yemeni authorities praised Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their efforts in facilitating these agreements.

By Tamilla Hasanova