Akbar Ponnani Jeddah Reporter
Jeddah: The agreement reached in Bern, Switzerland on the mutual exchange of prisoners held by both sides in the Yemen conflict has come into force. The first group of prisoners, including former defense minister Maj. Gen. Mahmoud al-Zubaihi and the brother of the former president, Maj. Gen. Nasser Mansour Hadi, who were captured by the Houthis, arrived at the airport in Aden, the seat of the legitimate Yemeni government, from the Houthi capital Sanaa on Friday.
Four flights in both directions will arrive at Aden and Sanaa on Friday. There will be a total of 320 prisoner transfers from Aden to Sanaa with Houthi prisoners and from Sanaa to Aden with Arab-backed prisoners on Friday alone. On the first day, 249 Houthi prisoners and 70 other prisoners will be transferred.
A total of 887 prisoners will be transferred. Most of them are Houthi prisoners. The transfer of the entire name will be completed in three days.
Flights to both sides took off from both locations at the same time. Jessica Mosen, Media Adviser of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said these things.
The exchange is the second major prisoner exchange since Yemen’s war began in 2014 following a coup by Iran-backed Houthi militias. In the context of the Iran-Saudi friendly move, the exchange of prisoners can be seen in the unprecedented coexistence between the two sides.