The Yemeni government and the Houthi rebel movement, also known as Ansar Allah, have reached an agreement following talks in Jordan under the United Nations' auspices on the exchange of 1,400 prisoners, the head of the Houthi negotiating delegation, Mohamed Abdel Salam, said late on Sunday
CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th February, 2020) The Yemeni government and the Houthi rebel movement, also known as Ansar Allah, have reached an agreement following talks in Jordan under the United Nations' auspices on the exchange of 1,400 prisoners, the head of the Houthi negotiating delegation, Mohamed Abdel Salam, said late on Sunday.
"It was recently agreed during the meeting in Jordan under the UN auspices to implement an exchange process, during which 1,400 prisoners, including Saudis and Sudanese, would be released," Abdel Salam wrote on Twitter.
The prisoner exchange comes within the framework of the UN-backed 2018 Stockholm peace deal, which details a de-escalation mechanism to be used to maintain the ceasefire on Yemeni soil and release all prisoners detained due to the events in Yemen without any exception.
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths expressed his appreciation to the sides' leadership for holding negotiations and also extended his gratitude to Jordan for hosting the meeting.
"I urge the parties to move forward with the exchange they agreed on today with the utmost sense of urgency. Progress has been too slow on this front. The pain of the thousands awaiting reunion with their loved ones must end," Griffiths said in a joint statement with the International Committee of the Red Cross after a prisoner exchange committee meeting.
Yemen has been facing a severe humanitarian crisis since 2015, caused by the ongoing military conflict between the internationally-recognized government headed by President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and the Houthi rebels. The country's north, including Sanaa, is controlled by the Houthi movement.
The Yemeni conflict has led to an acute humanitarian crisis and an outbreak of cholera in the country. According to the United Nations, some 22 million people in Yemen � or 75 percent of the country's population � need humanitarian assistance.
