AL-MUKALLA: Yemeni government officials and Houthi delegations met in Amman on Saturday for the second day of a fresh round of prisoner exchange talks, raising hopes for the release of hundreds of prisoners. The talks, sponsored by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN, started on Friday and are likely to emphasis on securing a deal to exchange hundreds of prisoners in the upcoming days.
Yemen Prisoner Exchange Dialogue Begin in Jordan
Majed Fadhail, a Yemeni official told Arab media that the delegations met three times on Friday, but have yet to reach a deal on the number of prisoners to be released. “There has been no progress to this point, and we continue to hold talks over the matter,” Fadhail said.
The chief of the Houthi side, Abdul Kader Al-Murtadha, said that they arrived in Amman to discuss hold discussion with the Yemeni government delegation regarding obstacles that prevented the executions of previously agreed-upon matters.
“We hope it will be as fruitful like last one,” Al-Murtadha tweeted. During the first round of prisoner dialogue that began in Switzerland in March, the government of Yemen and the Houthis agreed to exchange 900 detainees.
Despite releasing hundreds of detainees in April, both sides had also alleged each other the failure to exchange visits to jails in Marib and Sanaa. The UN envoy for Yemen said that dialogue will focus on the release of prisoners, and thanked Jordan for its help and support.
The Yemeni government promised to prioritize the freeing of prominent political leader Mohammed Qahtan, who has been held by the Houthis since 2015, and will reject any results of the dialogue until he is freed. The government had earlier declared that it would boycott dialogue with the Houthis until Qahtan’s family was allowed to visit him.