Houthis say prisoner swap deal includes 16 Saudis, brother of Yemen president

FILE PHOTO: Freed Houthi prisoners pray as they arrive after their release in a prisoner swap, in Sanaa airport, Yemen October 15, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo

March 27, 2022

CAIRO (Reuters) – A prisoner swap deal was agreed by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement and a Saudi-led military coalition earlier this month, the head of the Houthis’ national committee for prisoner affairs said on Sunday.

Abdul Qader al-Mortada added on Twitter that the deal, under the auspices of the United Nations, includes 1,400 Houthi prisoners in return for 823 prisoners including 16 Saudis, three Sudanese prisoners, the brother of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and former defence minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi.

He also said the deal awaits an exchange of lists of prisoners on Tuesday.

On Saturday, the Houthis said they were suspending missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia for three days, in a peace initiative it said could be a lasting commitment if the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen stopped air strikes and lifted port restrictions.

They also expressed readiness to release all prisoners, including Hadi’s brother.

(Reporting by Yasmin Hussein, Editing by William Maclean)