Muscat (South24 Center)

A spokesperson for the Yemeni government delegation in Muscat said that the Yemeni parties had achieved significant progress on the detainee file, after reaching "an agreement that is nearly finalized" to release thousands of detainees and abductees from various parties and fronts. 

The announcement came at the conclusion of the tenth round of consultations on the humanitarian file, hosted by the Sultanate of Oman, in Muscat.

Majid Fadail, spokesperson for the government delegation in the detainee negotiations, wrote on the platform X that the agreement was reached “at a pivotal moment the country is going through,” describing the achievement as “a long-awaited humanitarian step” that would ease the suffering of thousands of Yemeni families who have lived for years amid absence and waiting.

For his part, Abdulqader Al-Murtada, head of the prisoner file for the Houthi group, said in a post on X that the group had signed an agreement with the other party to implement a “wide exchange deal,” including the release of about 1,700 of the group’s detainees in return for 1,200 from the other side, including seven Saudis and 23 Sudanese. 

Al-Murtada expressed his gratitude to Oman for hosting, sponsoring, and ensuring the success of the consultations.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) welcomed the preliminary agreement reached by the parties to the conflict in Yemen regarding the release of detainees. 

Christine Cipolla, head of the ICRC mission in Yemen, said the Committee is “ready and determined to carry out the release operation, transfer the detainees, and return them safely to their homelands in a manner that preserves their dignity.” 

She stressed the need for cooperation and respect for commitments by the parties, noting that the ICRC had facilitated the release of more than 900 detainees in 2020 and over 1,000 in 2023.

In a separate statement, the Office of the UN Special Envoy to Yemen announced the conclusion of the tenth meeting of the Supervisory Committee for the implementation of the detainee release agreement, after 12 days of meetings in Oman.

The talks resulted in an agreement on a new phase of releases, within the framework of implementing the Stockholm Agreement and under joint chairmanship with the ICRC.

UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg welcomed the outcome of the meeting, describing the progress on the detainee file as of “utmost humanitarian importance.” 

He emphasized that the success of the new phase requires continued cooperation among the parties and coordinated regional support.