RIYADH: The Arab coalition fighting to restore the legitimate government in Yemen said on Sunday that it views a Yemeni prisoner swap as a “positive agreement.”
Yemen’s warring sides agreed earlier on Sunday to exchange 1,081 detainees and prisoners during the first stage of talks in Switzerland.
The Arab coalition said the prisoner exchange agreement was “purely humanitarian,” and in line with the Stockholm Agreement.
It has almost been two years since an agreement between the Yemeni government and the Iran-backed Houthi militia was signed in Sweden, with the aim of ending the brutal conflict that has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Spokesperson Col. Turki Al-Maliki said the Houthi militia will release 400 government prisoners while the Yemeni government will free 681 Houthi fighters, including on-the-ground deals for 20 prisoners.
Col. Al-Maliki said the coalition’s top priority is to recover the prisoners as soon as possible, adding that the agreement included the release of 15 Saudi soldiers and four Sudanese nationals.
He also said the Red Cross is expected to supervise the prisoner exchange process in Yemen.
Col. Al-Maliki called on the Houthi militia to not undermine the efforts of the UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths, saying there was a real desire to implement all the points of the Stockholm Agreement.
Arab coalition says Yemeni prisoner swap ‘positive’ step
https://arab.news/2qauq
Arab coalition says Yemeni prisoner swap ‘positive’ step
- Agreement includes release of 15 Saudi soldiers, 4 Sudanese nationals
- Red Cross to supervise prisoner exchange process in Yemen
Syrian authorities find remains of five victims of Assad regime
- The remains of the individuals were scattered on open ground near a house in the village of Al-Qashla, near Manbij
LONDON: Syrian authorities completed the recovery of the remains of at least five individuals in eastern Aleppo province, believed to have died due to the brutal practices of the deposed Bashar Assad regime.
The Syrian Civil Defense found the remains of individuals scattered on open ground near a house in the village of Al-Qashla, near Manbij, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
They have been surveying and investigating the area since Monday, when the first report of human remains came through, in coordination with the National Authority for the Missing.
Authorities have found multiple mass graves in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.
Last week, authorities reported that the remains of 14 individuals were found in the Adra industrial area, northeast of Damascus, during excavation for mill foundations in the area.
According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, nearly 177,000 people have been forcibly disappeared in Syria since March 2011.
