Yemen foes make ‘breakthrough’ in prisoner swap talks: UN

A new round of talks between warring parties in Yemen for an exchange of prisoners has ended with a “significant breakthrough” but without an agreement, the United Nations said on Sunday.

The progress came during talks in neutral Oman between the internationally-recognised Yemeni government and the Iran-backed Huthi rebels who control the capital Sanaa and much of the Red Sea coast.

“The negotiations led to a significant breakthrough, where the parties reached an understanding on releasing Mohamed Qahtan, a matter that has been contentious for years,” said the office of United Nations special envoy Hans Grundberg which chaired the meeting along with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Qahtan, a prominent Sunni Islamist leader aligned with the government, has been held by the Huthis since 2015. The rebels have refused to release information on him.

The rivals agreed to another meeting to “finalise the names of detainees to be released and arrangements pertaining to the release of Qahtan,” the UN statement added.

Huthi negotiator Abdelkader al-Murtada on Wednesday confirmed the rebels had agreed to release Qahtan in exchange for 50 prisoners held by the government.

He said another meeting would be held in two months to organise a new round of talks.

The conflict in Yemen has killed hundreds of thousands of people directly or indirectly and left large numbers of prisoners of war on both sides. Grundberg said “thousands of Yemenis are waiting to be reunited with their loved ones.”

A surprise reconciliation deal between the warring parties’ main foreign patrons, Riyadh and Tehran, in early 2023 saw nearly 900 prisoners released in April that year amid a renewed push for an end to the war.