Yemeni government and Houthis agree on prisoner exchange

Yemeni government and Houthis on Monday agreed to a prisoner exchange deal in the hope of ending the war by reviving the country's stalled peace negotiations.
 
Talks are taking place between the government and Houthi rebels in Switzerland, chaired by UN envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
 
Majed Fadail, Yemen's Deputy Minister for Human Rights and member of the government's prisoner swap committee, said that the deal had been confirmed.
 
It will involve the Iran-backed Houthis releasing, among others, 15 Saudi Arabian soldiers and three Sudanese soldiers in exchange for more than 700 detainees from the government side, Mr Fadail said.
 
This stage will be followed by other releases, he added.
 
“The deal includes four journalists who are sentenced to death, a number of military and civilian leaders, and dozens of prisoners of the Arab coalition,” Mr Fadail said.
 
Those to be released by the Houthis include former Yemeni minister of defence, Maj Gen Mahmoud Al Subaihi, Maj Gen Nasser Mansour, the sons of Lt Gen Ali Mohsen, and the sons of the Vice Chairman of the Command Council, Brig Gen Tariq Saleh, he said.