CAIRO: Yemen’s warring sides have agreed to implement a long-delayed and major prisoner swap, the United Nations said on Sunday, in a sign that talks to end the disastrous war between the country’s internationally recognized government and the Houthi militia could be making progress.
It would be the “first official large-scale” exchange of its kind since the beginning of the conflict, according to the UN
The prisoner swap deal was seen as a breakthrough during 2018 peace talks in Sweden. The Iran-backed Houthis and the internationally recognized government agreed then to several confidence-building measures, including a cease-fire in the strategic port city of Hodeidah.
Implementation of the tentative peace plan stumbled amid ongoing military offensives and a deep-seated distrust between the two sides.
The UN mission in Yemen said that both the Yemeni government and the militia had decided to “immediately begin with exchanging the lists for the upcoming release” of prisoners. Sunday’s statement came after seven days of meetings between the two sides in Jordan’s capital, Amman.
“Today the parties showed us that even with the growing challenges on the ground, the confidence they have been building can still yield positive results,” the UN envoy Martin Griffiths said.
The talks were co-chaired by Griffiths’ office and the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC.
Griffiths urged both parties to move forward with the agreed-upon prisoner exchange “with the utmost sense of urgency.” He did not elaborate when they would start the exchange.
Franz Rauchenstein, the head of the ICRC in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, welcomed the step as “encouraging.”
“Today, despite ongoing clashes, we saw that the parties have found common humanitarian ground that will allow many detainees to return to their loved ones,” Rauchenstein said.
The war in Yemen has also spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical shortages. It has killed over 100,000 people, including fighters and civilians, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, which tracks violence reports in Yemen.
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Salam said they would release 1,400 prisoners including Saudis and Sudanese.
Yemeni Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdullah Al-Hadrami said he welcomed the “phased agreement” to release prisoners, in a tweet Sunday.
The breakthrough in talks came after another weekend of violence in Yemen.
The renewed clashes threatened to overshadow the hopes raised by back-channel talks in the Gulf state of Oman between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.
The talks focus on interim agreements, such as re-opening Yemen’s main international airport in Sanaa. In a sign of progress, two United Nations flights ferrying dozens of seriously ill Yemenis abroad for treatment took off last week from the militant-held capital, the first since the start of the air blockade.
The conflict in the Arab world’s poorest country erupted in 2014, when the Iran-allied Houthis seized the capital and much of the country’s north. An Arab coalition, established to restore the authority of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Hadi’s government, launched a military intervention months later.
Warring parties in Yemen agree on major prisoner trade: UN
https://arab.news/486n6
Warring parties in Yemen agree on major prisoner trade: UN
- Griffiths urged both parties to move forward with the agreed-upon prisoner exchange
- It is a sign that talks to end the disastrous war could be making progress
Related
Tanker hit by Houthis salvaged, Red Sea disaster averted
- Extinguishing the fires on board took three weeks in difficult climate conditions
- Greece had urged all nations to assist with the case with political negotiations extending from the Houthis
The 900-foot Greek-registered MT Sounion, carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil, was struck by several missiles and drones and caught fire on Aug. 21, triggering fears of an oil spill that could cause catastrophic environmental damage in the area.
Months later, the vessel has been declared safe and its cargo has been removed, said Ambrey, which led the salvage operation.
Greece had urged all nations to assist with the case with political negotiations extending from the Houthis, who eventually allowed salvage teams to tow the ship, to Saudi Arabia, a key player in the region.
“It’s a great relief, mainly due to the environmental disaster risk. It was a very complex operation,” Greek Shipping Minister Christos Stylianides told Reuters on Monday. “I feel relieved and content.”
In mid-September, Sounion, which was hit 58 miles off the Yemeni coast, was towed to a safe location 150 miles to the north by a flotilla of seven salvage vessels escorted by the European Union’s naval force Aspides.
Extinguishing the fires on board took three weeks in difficult climate conditions, Ambrey said, and the vessel was later towed north to Suez for her cargo to be removed.
More than 200 people and six companies — Megatugs Salvage & Towage, Diaplous, Offmain, Fire Aid, Pro Liquid and Ambipar Response, were involved in the projects.
As Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Saudi Arabia on Monday, a Greek government official said the salvage of Sounion was pivotal in boosting bilateral ties.
Norway to host talks on Mideast two-state solution
- It will be the third meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution
OSLO: Dozens of countries will send delegates to Norway on Wednesday as part of a global alliance aiming to find a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Norway’s foreign ministry said on Monday.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, the head of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini, and UN envoy to the Middle East Tor Wennesland are among those due to attend.
It will be the third meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, whose creation was announced in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“While we must continue to work for an end to the war (in Gaza), we must also work for a lasting solution to the conflict that guarantees self-determination, security and justice for both the Palestinians and the Israelis,” Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement.
“There is broad support for a two-state solution, but the international community must do more to make it a reality.”
Representatives of more than 80 countries and organizations are expected to take part in the meeting, though no official Israeli delegation has been announced.
Israel was angered when several countries — including Norway — decided to recognize the Palestinian state.
The war in Gaza, sparked by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas’s attack on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, has revived discussions of a two-state solution.
Analysts say however the possibility remains more remote than ever, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — firmly backed by US President-elect Donald Trump — vehemently opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.
The first two meetings of the global alliance were held in Saudia Arabia in late October and in Brussels in late November.
Turkiye detains 2013 bombing suspect inside Syria
ANKARA: Turkiye’s intelligence agency conducted a cross-border operation inside Syria and seized a man suspected of perpetrating a 2013 bomb attack near the Syrian border that killed dozens of people, a Turkish security source said on Monday.
Twin car bombs ripped through the border town of Reyhanli in Hatay province on May 11, 2013, killing 53 people. At the time, Turkiye accused a group loyal to Syria’s then-President Bashar Assad of carrying out the attacks. Damascus denied any involvement.
Turkiye’s National Intelligence Agency (MIT) found out that Muhammed Dib Korali, who was suspected of planning the attack and providing the bombs, was inside Syria, the source said. The MIT captured him in a cross-border operation into Syria and handed him over to Hatay police, the source added.
Yusuf Nazik, a Turkish national who was sentenced to life in prison for planning the 2013 bomb attack, was also seized inside Syria by the MIT in 2018.
Iranian army takes delivery of 1,000 new drones
DUBAI: A thousand new drones were delivered to Iran’s army on Monday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, as the country braces for more friction with arch-enemy Israel and the United States under incoming US president Donald Trump.
The drones were delivered to various locations throughout Iran and are said to have high stealth and anti-fortification abilities, according to Tasnim.
“The drones’ unique features, including a range of over 2,000 kilometers, high destructive power, the ability to pass through defense layers with low Radar Cross Section, and autonomous flight, not only increase the depth of reconnaissance and border monitoring but also boost the combat capability of the army’s drone fleet in confronting distant targets,” the news agency added.
Earlier this month, Iran started two-months-long military exercises which have already included war games in which the elite Revolutionary Guards defended key nuclear installations in Natanz against mock attacks by missiles and drones.
Qatar hands Israel, Hamas “final” draft of Gaza ceasefire deal, official tells Reuters
- A breakthrough was reached in Doha after midnight
DOHA/CAIRO: Mediator Qatar gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of a deal on Monday to end the war in Gaza, after a midnight “breakthrough” in talks attended by US President-elect Donald Trump’s envoy, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.
The official said the text for a ceasefire and release of hostages was hammered out at talks in Doha which included the chiefs of Israel’s Mossad and Shin Bet spy agencies and Qatar’s prime minister as well Steve Witkoff, who will become US envoy when Trump takes office next week. Officials from the outgoing US administration are also thought to have participated.
“The next 24 hours will be pivotal to reaching the deal,” the official said.
Israel’s Kan radio, citing an Israeli official, reported on Monday that Israeli and Hamas delegations in Qatar had both received a draft, and that the Israeli delegation had briefed Israel’s leaders. Israel, Hamas and the foreign ministry of Qatar did not respond to requests for confirmation or comment.
Officials on both sides, while stopping short of confirming that a final draft had been reached, described progress at the talks.
A senior Israeli official said a deal could be sealed within a few days if Hamas replies to a proposal. A Palestinian official close to the talks said information from Doha was “very promising,” adding: “Gaps were being narrowed and there is a big push toward an agreement if all goes well to the end.”
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have worked for more than a year on talks to end the war in Gaza, so far fruitlessly.
Hell to pay
Both sides have agreed for months broadly on the principle of halting the fighting in return for the release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian detainees held by Israel. However, Hamas has always insisted that the deal must lead to a permanent end to the war and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel has said it will not end the war until Hamas is dismantled.
Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration is now widely seen in the region as a de facto deadline. The president-elect has said there would be “hell to pay” unless hostages held by Hamas are freed before he takes office, while outgoing President Joe Biden has also pushed hard for a deal before he leaves.
The official said talks went until the early hours of Monday, with Witkoff pushing the Israeli delegation in Doha and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani pushing Hamas officials to finalize an agreement.
The head of Egypt’s general intelligence agency Hassan Mahmoud Rashad was also in the Qatari capital as part of the talks, the official said.
Trump envoy Witkoff has traveled to Qatar and Israel several times since late November. He was in Doha on Friday and traveled to Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday before returning to Doha.
Biden also spoke on Sunday by phone with Netanyahu, stressing “the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal,” the White House said.
Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave laid to waste and most of its population displaced.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a hard-line nationalist who has opposed previous attempts to reach a deal, denounced the latest proposals as a “surrender” and a “catastrophe for the national security of the state of Israel.”
Bloodshed continued in Gaza on Monday, with Israeli military strikes killing at least 15 people, medics said, including five killed in an Israeli strike at a Gaza City school sheltering displaced families.
For the last several months, fighting has been particularly intense along the northern edge of Gaza, where Israel says it is trying to prevent Hamas from regrouping and Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to permanently depopulate a buffer zone.
Hamas armed wing spokesman Abu Ubaida said the group’s fighters attacked Israeli forces in the area killing at least 10 soldiers and injuring dozens of others in the past 72 hours. Israel confirmed on Saturday that four soldiers had been killed.
