Abdullah Abu Dhaif (Aden, Cairo)
Yesterday, the Yemeni government and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed the start of the process of exchanging prisoners and detainees in Yemen, which includes the release and exchange of nearly 900 prisoners, in an important confidence-building step, in a glimmer of hope that gives impetus to diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war, amid Arab and international welcome to this step. .
Majid Al-Fadael, the official spokesman for the government delegation in the negotiations of prisoners and abductees, a member of the negotiating delegation and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Human Rights, told Al-Ittihad that the first day of the exchange of prisoners and abductees between the Houthis and the government took place at the best level, under the supervision of the Red Cross and the United Nations. .
The official government official added that the Red Cross planes had already transported the prisoners from Sanaa, and the transfer of the numbers agreed upon by the two parties was completed on the first day, indicating that the process of exchanging prisoners and abductees is scheduled to continue until tomorrow, Sunday, to complete the Geneva Agreement signed during the month. the past.
Al-Fadael confirmed that among those released were Major General Mahmoud al-Sulayhi, the former Minister of Defense, and Major General Nasser Mansour, brother of former Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
The media advisor to the International Committee of the Red Cross, Jessica Mosan, stated that the first plane arrived before noon to Sana’a coming from Aden, the temporary seat of the government, with 125 prisoners on board, and another plane arrived in the afternoon to Aden coming from Sana’a with 35 prisoners on board, including Major General. Mahmoud Al-Subaihi and Major General Nasser Mansour Hadi. A third plane landed in Sanaa with 124 prisoners on board, and a fourth plane landed in Aden with 34 prisoners on board, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is overseeing the exchange. At the entrance to Aden airport, hundreds of prisoners’ relatives waited for their family members to arrive, most of whom sat on the sidewalks and in the shade of trees.
The Yemeni parties, during negotiations held in Berne last month, reached an agreement to exchange more than 880 prisoners. Under the agreement, the Houthis will release 181 prisoners in exchange for 706 detainees held by government forces.
In the last major exchange that took place in October 2020, “more than 1,050 prisoners were released and returned to their regions or countries,” according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
As for the Director of Operations of the International Committee of the Red Cross for the Near and Middle East, Fabrizio Carboni, he said in a press conference that the process of releasing prisoners is “a step to build confidence, within the framework of a broader initiative,” considering that it gives “impetus” to efforts to end the war.
For his part, the Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, Jassem Muhammad Al-Budaiwi, welcomed the start of the prisoner exchange process between the Yemeni government and the Houthis in Yemen.
He praised the agreement, which is the second largest prisoner exchange in Yemen, and an important humanitarian gesture in these blessed days for the return of hundreds of prisoners and detainees to their families and families, appreciating the role of the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, and the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross in sponsoring prisoner exchange deals.
He said, “This agreement is a new glimmer of hope that gives impetus to efforts aimed at putting the Yemeni crisis on the path to a solution, and an encouraging step that supports peace for Yemen and its brotherly people through a permanent truce and a political solution that outlines the features of stability in Yemen and the region in accordance with the Gulf initiative and its implementation mechanism, and the outputs of the Yemeni National Congress and resolutions.” The UN Security Council, including Resolutions 2216 and 2624.
The Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council praised the sincere efforts of the Saudi and Omani delegations in Sana’a to mediate between the two parties, the Yemeni legitimate government and the Houthis, which reflects the firm position of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to end the Yemeni crisis through a comprehensive political solution, which strengthens the peace process and paves the way towards Reconciliation and ending the war in Yemen.
For his part, UN envoy Hans Grundberg said: “The release process comes at a time of hope in Yemen, as a reminder that constructive dialogue and mutual settlements are powerful tools capable of achieving important results, and hundreds of Yemeni families can now celebrate Eid with their families because the parties negotiated and reached an agreement.” ».
He added, “I hope that this spirit will be reflected in the ongoing efforts to advance a comprehensive political solution.” The UN envoy stated that thousands of other families “are still waiting to be reunited with their loved ones, and I hope that the parties will build on the success of this process to fulfill the commitment they made to the Yemeni people in the Stockholm Agreement to release all conflict-related detainees to end this suffering.”
The former defense minister and Hadi’s brother are among those released
Yesterday, the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council pledged to work to release all prisoners and detainees, as a humanitarian priority. A member of the Presidential Leadership Council, Abdullah Al-Alimi, said, in his account on the social networking site “Twitter”: “On this blessed day of the holy month, our detained heroes return to us, led by Major General Mahmoud Al-Subaihi, former Minister of Defense, and Major General Nasser Mansour Hadi, brother of former President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi. On their tired faces, a smile of pride, dignity and steadfastness is drawn. Eight years of captivity in the prisons of the Houthi militia could not break their fatherhood and patriotism. He added, “The file of detainees will remain present as a humanitarian priority until the full release of all detainees and prisoners.”
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