The ICRC’s role is to ensure that humanitarian principles are respected and that detainees are treated humanely during the release and transfer process. ICRC teams have assessed the detainees’ state of health and confirmed that they are fit to travel. In addition, they will accompany them during the trip and attend to any medical needs that may arise along the way. The ICRC will use its planes to fly detainees to and from various cities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
The Yemen Red Crescent Society and the Saudi Red Crescent Authority will also have vital roles in assisting detainees. Its medical staff and volunteers will help detainees with disabilities get on and off planes and provide first aid and ambulance services when necessary.
The liberation operation is the result of talks that concluded on March 20, 2023 in Bern, Switzerland, where the parties to Yemen’s armed conflict finalized the plan for liberation. The ICRC co-chaired these meetings together with the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen.
“Through this act of goodwill, hundreds of families separated by the armed conflict are being reunited in the holy month of Ramadan, providing a glimmer of hope amid so much suffering. It is our deep hope that these liberations will promote a political solution so that more detainees can return to their loved ones,” said Fabrizio Carboni, the ICRC’s regional director for the Near and Middle East.
Note to newsrooms: You can visit www.icrcnewsroom.org during the release operation, where you will find b-roll videos usable for broadcasting.
More information:
Fatima Sator (French, English) in Aden, Yemen,
fsator@icrc.org +967 779 988 584
Basheer Al Selwi (Arabic, English) in Sana’a, Yemen,
bselwi@icrc.org+967 776 512 037
Fareed Al-Homaid, (Arabic, English) in Sana’a, Yemen,
falhomaid@icrc.org, +967 739 164 666
Adnan Hezam (Arabic, English) in Moca, Yemen,
ahizam@icrc.org +967 733 721 659/ +967 7791 00627
Ahmed Zaki (Arabic) in Maareb, Yemen,
ahosman@icrc.org +967 779 988 583
Alaa Nayel (Arabic, English) in Abha, Saudi Arabia,
anayel@icrc.org , +965 96673614
Imene Trabelsi (Arabic, French, English) in Beirut, Lebanon,
itrabelsi@icrc.org , +961 3 13 83 53
Jessica Moussan (Arabic, French, English) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,
jmoussan@icrc.org , +971 50 425 4091