The Yemeni authorities and the Shiite insurgent movement Ansar Allah (Houthis) will begin a prisoner exchange process on April 14, which will last for three days. Al-Hadath TV channel reported this on Tuesday, citing a representative of the government delegation.
According to him, the sides will exchange 72 prisoners at the first stage. He also said that at the moment the Shiite rebels were holding more than 1,400 civilians.
A Saudi delegation is holding consultations this week in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, with parties to the Yemeni conflict, mediated by Omani representatives, with the aim of concluding a sustainable truce and achieving a political solution to the crisis in the Arab republic.
Reuters reported last week, citing sources, that Riyadh expects to reach an agreement with the Shiite movement to reopen the country's ports and airports, which are blocked by rebels, and discuss a possible political transition process. According to the agency's sources, if an agreement is reached, the sides could announce it before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr (Uraza Bayram), which marks the end of the month of Ramadan (begins on April 21).
In Yemen, the confrontation between government forces and armed groups of the Houthis rebels has been going on since August 2014. It reached its most active phase with the invasion of the country in March 2015 by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Jialiang Gao/Creative Commons 3.0
Based on materials from TASS