Um Mohammed hopes that her joy in Eid will be doubled with the release of her son captured by the Yemeni government forces 4 years ago, and told Al Jazeera Net, "I hope that my joy and the joy of every mother will be completed with this day, which we are waiting for and count him in hours, they told me that my son will return."

"We are waiting for our children to return to us safely," she adds.

Muntaha Mohammed, who is awaiting the release of her husband kidnapped by the Houthis four years ago, says the family has not received any information that her husband is part of the deal.

She adds to Al Jazeera Net, "Our condition has become difficult, and we have 7 children every day waiting for their father, who was kidnapped in the point of Al-Hawban in Taiz, and we hope that he will be released."

Yemenis, especially the families of prisoners and abductees, are awaiting a breakthrough in their case by starting the exchange of 880 prisoners in accordance with the agreement that took place between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group on March 20.

The agreement, which followed UN-sponsored talks with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva, Switzerland, saw the Houthis release 181 prisoners, including 15 Saudis and 3 Sudanese, in exchange for 706 prisoners from the group held by other parties.


Deferment of arrangements

The announced figures do not include all the number of prisoners and abductees, as the two parties presented during consultations in Sweden in 2018, lists of more than 15,1081 prisoners, detainees and abductees, and the first breakthrough in the file was when the two parties exchanged 2020 prisoners in <>.

A new round of prisoner negotiations is scheduled for a month Ramadan to release the rest.

The official spokesman and member of the government delegation in the negotiations, Majid Fadael, said that the exchange process was postponed for 3 days at the request of the International Committee of the Red Cross, due to procedures and arrangements, and the exchange process is scheduled to take place next Thursday.

Fadael explained to Al Jazeera Net that these procedures relate to the transfer of a large number of prisoners from different regions.

He said that the first day of the exchange will take place through mutual flights of the Red Cross between the government-controlled city of Aden and the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, and the next day there will be flights between Sanaa and Riyadh and another between Sanaa and Saudi Abha, in conjunction with mutual flights between the government-controlled city of Mokha and Sanaa, while the third day there will be an exchange of flights between government-controlled Marib and Sanaa.

The prisoner exchange will end until all prisoners, detainees and abductees are released on an all-for-all basis, he said, while there is no information about the fate of politician Mohammed Qahtan, who has been held by the Houthis since 2015.

He pointed out that the prisoner exchange process will be a key file in confidence-building measures between the Yemeni parties to reach a peace agreement.

Prisoner exchange agreement between Houthis and government follows UN-sponsored talks with the Red Cross in Geneva (Al Jazeera)

Overcoming differences

For his part, the head of the delegation of prisoners negotiator in the Houthi group Abdul Qader Al-Murtada told Al Jazeera Net that the exchange process was supposed to start on Monday, but the government-affiliated parties in Marib were not ready, as there were parties that do not want to complete the deal.

But al-Murtada confirmed that the operation is in the process of finalization, with Red Cross representatives conducting visits to prisoners before their departure to ensure their safety, in addition to logistical arrangements related to airports and flights.

He noted that recent differences have been overcome and each side has made concessions until the deal is completed next Thursday.

He explained that any progress in the prisoners' file will positively affect the political process, and that the presence of the Saudi and Omani delegations in Sanaa will be reflected in the broader negotiation on several files.

Complexity of operations

But the deputy media coordinator of the ICRC mission in Yemen, Farid Al-Hamid, told Al Jazeera Net that the committee "hopes that the process of releasing detainees will take place next in the next few days, however, given the complexity of such operations, we are not in a position to confirm any specific dates as the situation continues to evolve," in reference to Thursday probably not being the date of the exchange.

Commission teams were currently on the ground and working to facilitate the safe transfer and repatriation of detainees, and would provide further information as soon as it became available.

Al-Hamid said that the ICRC is committed to fulfilling its role as a neutral mediator and is in constant contact with all relevant parties to ensure that the release process is carried out in accordance with international humanitarian law, as agreed by the parties, and the ICRC appreciates all the cooperation shown by the parties so far.

A Saudi delegation headed by Ambassador Mohammed Al Jaber and an Omani arrived last Saturday in Sanaa and held talks with the head of the Houthi movement's political bureau, Mahdi al-Mashat, on ways to bring peace to Yemen and reach a permanent ceasefire agreement.

This coincided with the arrival of 13 Houthi prisoners at Sana'a airport, in exchange for a Saudi prisoner who was released earlier.


Unfair operation

While all parties welcomed the exchange, others saw it as unfair, and Asma al-Rahi, a member of the Association of Mothers of Abductees, an organization that defends the abducted and forcibly disappeared, said it was unfair to the victims.

She adds to Al Jazeera Net "injustice and weakening of the law because it is the exchange of a kidnapped civilian from his home and his work as a prisoner of battle, in addition to the size of the large number of Houthis released in exchange for those released from the other party, most of whom are civilians."

Al-Rahi said that the exchange process must be all for all, despite the assurances received by the Association from the various parties that the process will end the tragedy, close the file, whitewash the prisons and end the thorny file.

But the peace process linked to the exchange deal will only be by holding those responsible for this tragedy accountable, compensating those affected, reparating their damage and integrating them into society, especially for those suffering from tired psychological conditions, some of whom left prison with lost their minds, according to al-Rahi.