The United States has welcomed the release of nearly 900 detainees from all sides of the Yemen conflict, adding that the release will reunify hundreds of families ahead of Eid al-Fitr and takes place amidst 13- month period of calm initiated by the UN-mediated truce.
According to a statement released by the State Department Deputy Spokesman, Vedant Patel on Friday while stated that the United States will continue to support this UN-led engagement and do all we can to consolidate the truce to help set the conditions for an enduring peace.
The Deputy Spokesman further said that the United States remains unwavering in its commitment to an inclusive, Yemeni-Yemeni political process and to the release of all conflict-related detainees as part of efforts to end the war.
It was reported on that the release and swap of nearly 900 detainees by the two sides in Yemen’s conflict has begun, a significant confidence- building measure as peace talks between Saudi envoys and Houthi rebels intensify.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is managing the prisoner exchange, said on Friday its planes would be used to carry the released detainees between six cities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Warring parties agreed at negotiations in Switzerland last month to free 887 detainees and to meet again in May to discuss further releases.
Negotiators had hoped for an “all for all” deal involving all remaining detainees during the 10 days of talks held near the Swiss capital Bern.
The talks were the latest in a series of meetings that led to releases of prisoners in 2022 and 2020 under a UN-mediated deal known as the Stockholm Agreement.
Yemen’s conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of people and left millions hungry, has widely been seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
A Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Iran-aligned Houthis ousted the government from Sanaa in 2014.
Riyadh and Tehran last month agreed to restore diplomatic ties severed in 2016, raising hopes that Yemen’s peace process would see progress.
A Saudi delegation on Thursday concluded peace talks in Sanaa with the Houthi movement whose officials cited progress and said further discussions were needed to iron out remaining differences.