Red Cross officials began a three-day operation in Yemen to release almost 900 prisoners of war as part of a deal among the warring sides that's been months in the making.
The ICRC said on Friday its role is to ensure humanitarian principles are respected and detainees are treated with humanity throughout the release and transfers.
“Hundreds of families torn apart by conflict are being reunited during the holy month of Ramadan, providing a glimmer of hope amidst great suffering," said Fabrizio Carboni, ICRC’s regional director.
The deal between Yemen's internationally recognized government and the Houthi rebels is the first major prisoner swap in almost three years.
It resulted from 10 days of intensive negotiations in the Swiss capital Bern last month that were co-chaired by the United Nations' Office of the Special Envoy to the Secretary-General on Yemen and the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross.
The government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, planned to release more than 700 Houthi prisoners. The Iran-backed Houthis planned to release more than 180 prisoners, including Saudi and Sudanese troops, and four Yemeni journalists that the Houthis had sentenced to death.
#Yemen : Major prisoner swap underway involving nearly 900 detainees, managed by @ICRC - a major step forward… #ٱلْيَمَن pic.twitter.com/ZnfbGGQUQC
— sebastian usher (@sebusher) April 14, 2023
More 'dialogue and mutual compromises' needed
Thousands more prisoners of war are believed to be held by the two sides, which have committed to meet again in May to organize more releases, according to the U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg.
“This release operation comes at a time of hope for Yemen as a reminder that constructive dialogue and mutual compromises are powerful tools capable of achieving great outcomes," said Grundberg.
"Today, hundreds of Yemeni families get to celebrate Eid with their loved ones because the parties negotiated and reached an agreement," he said. "Thousands more families are still waiting to be reunited with their loved ones. I hope the parties build on the success of this operation.”
Special Envoy Grundberg also urged the parties to immediately and unconditionally release all arbitrarily detained individuals and to adhere to international legal standards in regards to detention and fair trials.
ICRC teams were checking detainees' health to confirm they could travel, and arranging to travel with them and tend to medical needs along the way. Red Cross planes were flying the detainees into and out of cities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
The Yemen Red Crescent Society and the Saudi Red Crescent Authority also were providing medical services and help for detainees with disabilities. The last such exchange in Yemen was in October 2020, when more than 1,000 detainees were released.
The war began in 2014 when the Houthis overran the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country’s north. A Western-backed alliance of Sunni Muslim Arab nations, led by the Saudis, tried to prop up the internationally recognized government, but it fled into exile in Saudi Arabia.
As the conflict escalated into a regional proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the nation descended into one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and at least 150,000 people have died in the war.
