Yemen prisoner exchange completed with flights between Sanaa and Marib

Final day of prisoner swap sees release of four prominent journalists held by Houthi rebels since 2015

Freed prisoners exit an International Committee of the Red Cross-chartered plane at Marib Airport, Yemen, on April 16. Reuters

Yemen's government and Houthi rebels freed more than 200 detainees on Sunday, including four prominent journalists held by the rebels since 2015, to complete a three-day prisoner exchange that has been hailed as a significant step towards ending more than eight years of civil war.

The release of nearly 900 detainees on both sides, facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross, is the most significant prisoner exchange since October 2020 when more than 1,000 prisoners were freed.

The exchange on Sunday began with planes carrying detainees taking off at the same time from the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and the government-controlled northern city of Marib, the ICRC said.

"Forty-eight former detainees were on board the Marib-Sanaa flight, and 42 on the Sanaa-Marib flight," ICRC media adviser Jessica Moussan told AFP.

Three other flights between the two cities completed the deal reached in Switzerland last month to exchange 181 government forces for 706 rebels, just before the Muslim holiday of Eid Al Fitr.

Those freed since Friday include Maj Gen Mahmoud Al Subaihi, who was defence minister when the war began, and Nasser Mansour Hadi, the brother of former Yemeni President Abdrabo Mansur Hadi.

Gen Al Subaihi was kidnapped in March 2015 following an ambush, along with 16 officers who were with him.

He arrived at Aden airport on Friday, along with Mr Hadi and Mohammad Abdullah Saleh, brother of the deputy chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, Yemen's Vice President Tareq Mohammad Abdullah Saleh.

"We thank God for taking us out from the darkness and into the light and we thank the National Resistance and the army and the coalition in fighting this cancerous tumour that's present on our soil," Mr Saleh told reporters in Aden, the government's temporary base.

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  Freed prisoners celebrate after arriving in Sanaa following a swap between warring parties in Yemen. Reuters

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  Relatives waited for the return of loved ones. Reuters

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  The International Committee of the Red Cross said 318 prisoners were released on the first day. Reuters

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  The ceremonial Baraa dance was performed for freed prisoners at Sanaa Airport. Reuters

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  Relatives cheer as the plane lands. Reuters

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  Freed prisoners of war walk at Sanaa Airport, after arriving on a flight chartered by the International Committee of the Red Cross as part of a prisoner swap between the rival sides in the Yemen conflict. Reuters

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  People wearing Yemen Red Crescent Society jackets wait as a plane carrying freed prisoners arrives at Sanaa Airport. Reuters

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  Houthi prisoners, freed under a deal between the rebels and Yemen's internationally recognised government, pray on the tarmac at Sanaa International Airport. AFP

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  Relatives of freed prisoners wait at Sanaa Airport. Reuters

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  Mahmoud Al Subaihi, centre, former defence minister of Yemen's internationally recognised government, and Nasser Mansur Hadi, top, brother to former Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, arrive at Aden International Airport after being freed by the Houth rebels under the prisoner exchange deal. AFP

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  A freed prisoner is kissed after arriving at Sanaa Airport. Reuters

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  Yemeni Houthi rebel prisoners released as part of a prisoner exchange with the internationally recognised government, before boarding a flight to Sanaa. AFP

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  Members of the International Committee of the Red Cross wait to receive exchanged detainees loyal to the Houthis at Sanaa Airport. EPA

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  Released Houthi rebel prisoners in Aden, on their way to board a flight to Sanaa. AFP

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  Freed prisoners travel on a bus to an ICRC-chartered plane at Sanaa Airport. Reuters

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  Yemenis gather at the capital's airport ahead of the prisoner exchange. AP Photo

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  An Embraer ERJ aircraft flying under the banner of the ICRC takes off from Sanaa Airport. AFP

A government official told The National that the release of the prominent officials would advance efforts to end the conflict.

“This is the breaking point, once these names have been released then the peace process can move forward. We will do anything to bring peace once these people are out,” the official said.

Yemeni journalists released

The four journalists freed on Sunday had been sentenced to death by a rebel-controlled court in what Amnesty International described as a "grossly unfair" trial.

Tawfiq Al Mansouri, who was detained in 2015 and sentenced to death in April 2020, was denied medical care despite having serious health conditions, his family said.

The rebels also detained Akram Al Walidi, Abdelkhaleq Amran and Hareth Hamid in 2015, and held them without charge until December 2018.

They were "held incommunicado at times and subjected to a range of human rights abuses, including enforced disappearance, solitary confinement, beatings and denial of access to health care", Amnesty said.

The four men were to be released as part of the 2020 prisoner exchange but the Houthis rejected this.

Their lawyer at the time said the Houthis denied the four men visits from their families and lawyers, subjected them to cruel treatment, and deprived them of access to adequate and timely medical care.