UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Thursday he plans to convene the Supervisory Committee on the implementation of the Prisoner Exchange Agreement aiming to release detainees
UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2020) UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Thursday he plans to convene the Supervisory Committee on the implementation of the Prisoner Exchange Agreement aiming to release detainees.
"I intend to convene the prisoners exchange committee created under the Stockholm agreement with the intention of substantive prisoner releases," Griffiths said.
Griffiths noted that the recent release of six Saudi detainees by the Houthi movement was an indication of goodwill between the parties. However, it falls short of the aspirations of the Stockholm Agreement to release all prisoners and detainees, the special envoy said.
"I hope the parties can make this happen soon," he added.
On January 1, Yemen's Houthis handed over six Saudis to the Red Cross and said they were awaiting similar steps from Riyadh.
Since 2014, Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi rebels. The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015. Despite the peace accord, signed in Stockholm in 2018, the tensions have significantly escalated in recent months.
