In a move aimed at building confidence and promoting peace talks, Saudi Arabia will release a number of detainees to Yemen on Monday, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The release follows a three-day operation overseen by the ICRC to return nearly 900 detainees held in relation to the conflict.
The Houthis’ deputy foreign minister announced on Twitter that 104 Yemenis being held in Saudi Arabia would also be released.
Negotiators had hoped for an “all for all” deal involving all remaining detainees during talks, the latest in a series of meetings that led to the releases of prisoners in 2022 and 2020 under an UN-mediated deal known as the Stockholm Agreement.
While any respite for the exhausted population is welcomed, the ICRC’s regional director emphasized that only a political solution will end the suffering in Yemen.
The conflict, widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has killed tens of thousands of people and left millions hungry.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
