Saudi-led coalition: 200 Yemen rebels released as part of peace efforts

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition, which fights in Yemen, said on November 26 that it has released 200 Houthi rebels to advance a United Nations-brokered deal which is aimed at ending the war in the poorest country in the Arab world. The spokesperson of the coalition said in a statement that the recent move was aimed at creating a way for a larger and long-delayed prisoner swap agreed in December 2018. Rebel leader called on the coalition to release 'all war prisoners' and welcomed the move. 

The Saudi-led coalition has been at war with the Iran-backed Houthis on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognised government since 2015. The war has killed at least 100,000 people and has also resulted in the world's worst humanitarian crisis by leaving millions suffering from food and medical care shortages. In September, the Houthis released scores of prisoners who were held for years in rebel-controlled territory. 

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The prisoner swap

The prisoner swap was a part of the UN-negotiated agreement which was reached in Sweden in December last year and involved a cease-fire at the port of Hodeida. Hodeida is the main passageway for imports and a lifeline for Houthi-controlled areas. However, the agreement is yet to be fully implemented. According to the government of Yemen, the release of detainees is a trust-building measure for the encouragement of negotiation from the Houthis with the coalition. 

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Saudi Arabia began indirect talks with the Houthi rebels in Oman in September after Houthis claimed an attack on Saudi oil infrastructure which further affected global oil supplies. The United States, on the other hand, had blamed the attack on Iran. Currently, the talks between both the sides are focussed on interim agreements including re-opening Yemen's main international airport in Sanaa which was shut down by the coalition in 2016. The airport with benefit the country for flying the patients out of Sanaa for treatment abroad while working with the UN. 

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(With AP inputs)