Mutual accusations between the government and the Houthis of postponing the date of the prisoner exchange
English - Saturday 08 April 2023 الساعة 09:50 pm
Sana'a, NewsYemen, exclusive:
The delegations of the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia, Iran's arm in Yemen, exchanged accusations of being behind the process of delaying the release of prisoners and abductees announced by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
According to the agreement concluded last March between the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia in Switzerland, April 11 was set as the date for the start of the exchange of 880 prisoners from both sides. However, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced that the date had been postponed to April 14.
The committee returned the sudden postponement to what it called "technical and logistical measures."
Hours after the committee informed the two parties to the agreement to postpone the date for a period of 3 days, the Houthi militia quickly accused the Yemeni government of obstructing the implementation of the exchange deal on time.
The head of the Houthi Prisoners Committee, Abdul Qadir Al-Murtada, said in a tweet on his Twitter page: "We were informed by the International Committee of the Red Cross that the start of the implementation of the exchange deal was postponed three days from the specified date, and this is because the Marib party is not ready for implementation," adding: The government's request is a clear obstruction of the agreement and a renunciation of what has been committed to by all parties, calling at the same time the United Nations to pressure them - the government side - to stop these irresponsible and inhumane practices.
For its part, the government delegation negotiating the file of prisoners and abductees denied the accusations promoted by the Houthi militia of obstructing the exchange deal process, explaining that the postponement came at the request of the Red Cross.
A member of the government delegation, Majid Fadael, said in a tweet on Twitter, "Due to the large numbers agreed upon to exchange them, and despite the great arrangements and efforts made by everyone, not all interviews (prisoners' interviews) have been completed."
He stressed that the Red Cross needs to complete the procedures in order to start implementation, as there are still some arrangements and interviews that need to be carried out.
The government official pointed out that "the Red Cross asked for some additional time to complete the technical procedures, calling on everyone to exercise restraint until they complete their procedures and implement them."
In late March, the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia, under the auspices of the United Nations, signed an agreement to release 887 prisoners and abductees from both sides, at the conclusion of consultations held in Switzerland regarding the exchange of prisoners between the two parties.
A joint statement by UN envoy Hans Grundberg and the Red Cross said, "The parties also agreed to reconvene next May to discuss more releases, and committed themselves to exchanging joint visits to their respective detention facilities and to enable access to all detainees during these visits."
