The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Saudi-led military coalition announced today, Monday, the release of 104 prisoners from the Yemeni Houthi group held in the Kingdom. This unilateral move comes after a simultaneous exchange of prisoners between the warring parties in the Yemeni conflict.
The coalition stated, "This initiative is an extension of previous humanitarian initiatives from the Kingdom related to prisoners and supports efforts to consolidate the truce and create an atmosphere for dialogue among the Yemeni parties to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable political solution to end the Yemeni crisis."
In this context, the UN envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, told the Security Council, "We have not seen a more promising opportunity in the past 8 years to make progress towards ending the conflict. However, things could change if both sides do not take bolder steps towards peace."
He informed the Council that "there is a need for a ceasefire by the Yemenis themselves, which would halt violence permanently and ensure the safety and security of Yemenis, building trust for the launch of a political process."
On Sunday, the International Committee of the Red Cross completed a three-day operation to repatriate nearly 900 prisoners detained during the conflict. This is an important step in building trust amid peace talks between Saudi envoys and the Yemeni Houthi group.
