A flight carrying rebel prisoners of war has left Saudi Arabia bound for Yemen as Saudi prisoners will be released later in the day, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.
Saturday’s flights are part of a large-scale, multi-day exchange involving nearly 900 prisoners during peace talks that have sparked hopes of an end to Yemen’s eight-year war between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and a Saudi Arabian government. led coalition. .
On Friday, 318 prisoners were transported on four flights between government-controlled Aden and the rebel-held capital of Sanaa to reunite with their families for next week’s Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr.
Saturday’s flight from the southern Saudi city of Abha departed before 09:00 (06:00 GMT) and was on its way to Sanaa with 120 Houthi rebel prisoners, ICRC public affairs and media adviser Jessica Moussan said.
Mohammed al-Darwi, a Houthi prisoner released during the exchange, stood on the tarmac of Sanaa International Airport and told Al Jazeera: “We are happy to return to Sanaa after being held in the prisons of the enemy sat.”
📢 Day 2 of release operation update: Our first plane carrying 120 former prisoners has taken off from #Abha #Saudi Arabia and is on its way to #Sanaaaccompanied by @ICRC plow. Stay tuned for more updates! pic.twitter.com/JK8v8R6KW3
— ICRC for Gulf Cooperation Council countries (@ICRC_kw) April 15, 2023
At least three buses took the detainees to the tarmac of Abha airport, which was previously attacked by Houthi drones and missiles.
Wheelchairs were placed near the buses to take some of the prisoners to the plane.
Sixteen Saudis and three Sudanese were to be transferred from Sanaa to Riyadh later on Saturday.
Sudan is part of the Saudi-led coalition and has provided ground troops for the fighting.
In addition, 100 Houthis would be flown on three flights to Sanaa from al-Makha (Mocha) on the Red Sea coast, a city held by the coalition-backed government.
The prisoner exchange is a confidence-building measure that coincides with intense diplomatic pressure to end the war in Yemen, which has left hundreds of thousands dead from the fighting, as well as knock-on effects such as food shortages and lack of access to health care.
Path to peace?
Analysts say that eight years after mobilizing a coalition to crush the Houthis, the Saudis have come to terms with the fact that this goal will not be met and that they want to scale back their military deployment.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was a 29-year-old defense minister when the war began, has since become de facto ruler of the kingdom and is eager to focus on his sweeping “Vision 2030” domestic reform agenda.
The Saudi exit strategy appears to have received new impetus from a historic rapprochement announced last month with Iran.
“This [the prisoner swap] is the first concrete result of not only the Omani mediation, but also of the Iran-Saudi deal that is beginning to bear fruit in Yemen and elsewhere in the region,” said Nabil Khoury, former deputy chief of the US mission in Yemen , to Al Jazeera.
The China-brokered deal calls on Middle East heavyweights to fully restore diplomatic relations after a seven-year rift, and has the potential to rekindle regional ties.
Saudi Arabia is also pushing for the reintegration into the Arab League of Iran’s ally Syria, more than a decade after its suspension over President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
On Friday, the kingdom, which had once openly supported al-Assad’s removal, hosted top diplomats from eight other Arab countries in the Red Sea city of Jeddah for talks on Syria. It issued a statement stressing the “importance of an Arab leadership role in efforts to end the crisis”.
In Yemen, active fighting has eased over the past year following a United Nations-brokered ceasefire that officially expired in October but largely held.
A week ago, a Saudi delegation traveled to Sanaa, held by the Houthis since 2014, for talks to revive the ceasefire and lay the foundations for a more lasting ceasefire.
The delegation, led by Ambassador Mohammed al-Jaber, left Sanaa late Thursday without a final ceasefire but with plans for more talks, according to Houthi and Yemeni government sources.
Even if Saudi Arabia manages to find a negotiated way out of the war, fighting between the various Yemeni factions could flare up again.
“Saudi Arabia is struggling to reduce its military involvement in Yemen and is looking for sustainable long-term peace so that it can focus on its economic priorities,” said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and Middle East program. North Africa at Chatham. House.
“Yet, despite its intent, it will be Yemen’s longtime broker, investor and conflict counselor.”
Speaking from Washington, DC, former Yemeni prisoner Hisham al-Omeisy agreed that while the average Yemeni is desperate for peace, a true end to the war may be a long way off.
“Many people think that the end of the war will happen in a few weeks or months. I want to warn against that,” he told Al Jazeera.
“It [peace] will last at least a year or two because the conflict is not just between the Houthis and the Saudis. It is protracted and polarized with many parties and factions in Yemen needing to be brought together in an inclusive, holistic and comprehensive [peace] process.”