The agreement was signed under the leadership of UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg, who in a statement called it a “positive and meaningful step that will hopefully alleviate the suffering of detainees and their families across Yemen.”
In addition to mainly Yemenis, there are a number of Saudi and Sudanese citizens among the prisoners, according to Abd al-Qadir al-Murtada, responsible for prison issues for the Houthis.
It is not clear how the further process of the exchange will proceed.
The prisoner swap, the largest since the outbreak of the war, was agreed after a 12-day meeting in the Omani capital of Muscat. The exchange is part of fulfilling the terms of the 2018 Stockholm Agreement.
The civil war has been going on since 2014. Over 150,000 people, civilians and combatants, have been killed.
