SANAA, Mar 28 (NNN-YPA) – Yemen’s Houthi militia, announced last night that, they are ready to swap 823 prisoners of the Saudi-led coalition forces for 1,400 Houthi militants.
The prisoner exchange agreement was reached on Mar 21, under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), Abdulkadir al-Murtada, head of the Houthi prisoner committee, was quoted by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV as saying.
The 823 prisoners composed of 804 Yemeni soldiers and political detainees, 16 Saudi soldiers, and three Sudanese soldiers. The release of Nasser Mansour Hadi, the brother of Yemeni President, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and Mahmoud al-Subaihi, the former defence minister of Hadi’s government, was part of the deal, according to Abdulkadir al-Murtada.
The Houthis informed the UN of their willingness to exchange prisoners and are waiting for the publication of a name list from the other side, which is scheduled tomorrow, as agreed upon by both sides, according to the Houthi official.
Around 15,000 people were reportedly held in the Yemeni government and Houthi jails.
Yesterday, the Houthis announced the start of a three-day unilateral ceasefire with the Saudi-led coalition, voicing their commitment to a permanent truce, if the coalition stops airstrikes and withdraws its forces.
