Yemen’s warring sides swap prisoners
The deal is seen as the first breakthrough in peace talks which began in Kuwait on April 21
Yemen’s warring sides on Wednesday swapped prisoners, with 19 Houthi militia men exchanged for 16 fighters from the pro-government Popular Resistance fighters, sources told Al Hadath, Al Arabiya News Channel’s sister channel.
The prisoner swap took place after Yemeni government officials and rebels agreed on Tuesday to free half of the prisoners and detainees held by both sides within 20 days.
The deal, seen as the first breakthrough in peace talks which began in Kuwait on April 21, came during a meeting of the joint working group on prisoners and detainees formed by UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
There has been mounting international pressure to end the Yemen conflict that the United Nations estimates has killed more than 6,400 people and displaced 2.8 million since March last year.
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