Yemen: thousands of prisoners freed following historic agreement
Abdulkader al-Murtada, head of the Houthi prisoner exchange committee, shakes hands with Hadi Haig, head of the Yemeni government delegation, after the agreement is implemented in Switzerland on September 27, 2020. REUTERS / Denis balibouse
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From Switzerland, the Yemeni government-in-exile and Houthi rebels announced that an agreement to release more than 1,000 prisoners had been reached.
It is by far the most important exchange since the start of the conflict in 2014.
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From our correspondent in Geneva,
Jérémie Lanche
It's a small ray of hope in the conflict in
Yemen
, but now
the UN
, which is overseeing the negotiations, is calling for action.
And hopes that this agreement will revive
stalled political negotiations
.
The discussions lasted a little over a week out of sight in a luxury hotel at the end of Lake Geneva, in
Switzerland
.
And they paid, we will also remember this handshake between the envoys of the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels.
1,081 prisoners will therefore be exchanged between the belligerents of the conflict.
“
When you show goodwill and are ready to compromise, as you have done, peaceful negotiations can be successful.
And they will succeed.
These
(releases of prisoners)
will relieve the Yemeni people and bring confidence to the peace talks
, ”said UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths.
A first step towards a peace agreement?
He now hopes that this release of prisoners can be a first step towards a comprehensive peace agreement.
“
I call on you to build on this important success.
And to continue negotiations to obtain a lasting peace in Yemen,
”he added.
The two camps have agreed to meet to negotiate new releases.
They concern nearly 15,000 prisoners and have been planned for almost two years and an agreement reached in Sweden.
But the latter has largely remained a dead letter.
The war has already claimed more than 100,000 lives in this country, also plunging it into an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
Currently, two thirds of the population depends on international aid and children die of malnutrition every day.
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