ICRC Sends Staff to Yemen, Readies for Prisoner Exchanges - Regional Chief

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has begun preparations in Yemen to facilitate the exchange of prisoners between the government and the Houthis, in particular, by sending its staff to the country and getting planes ready for transfers of detainees, the ICRC regional director for the Near and Middle East, said.

"We have increased our personnel in Yemen, flying in 15 delegates dedicated to the operation. We are rehabilitating the locations where detainees will be gathered before being transported to the airport. We, together with the Yemen Red Crescent Society, are preparing to provide medical assistance to detainees in need. And we are preparing two planes, each with a capacity of 200 passengers, to shuttle detainees between Sana’a and Sayoun", ICRC regional director for the Near and Middle East Fabrizio Carboni said in a statement.

Carboni added that the ICRC hoped to see progress on the prisoner swap between the two warring sides in Yemen in the next few days.

"The latest meeting of the Supervisory Committee in Amman allowed for further discussion on the exchanged lists of detainees, a process we hope sees progress in the coming days", Carboni noted.

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Jordan's capital, Amman, hosted a three-day meeting between representatives of the Yemeni government and Houthis on the implementation of a prisoner exchange agreement commencing on January 16. A government source told Sputnik that both sides would have 10 days since the exchange of each other’s lists of prisoners to provide their feedback on the lists. The sides also agreed to set up committees, one on missing persons and another one on dead prisoners at the conclusion of the meeting.

Prisoner exchanges fall within the framework of an agreement reached in Sweden after the most recent round of consultations on Yemen’s peace settlement peace process took place in mid-December. Other humanitarian measures agreed during the consultations included the maintenance of a ceasefire in Yemen’s port city of Al Hodeidah.