Yemen’s internationally recognized government and Houthi rebels have agreed to release 2,900 detainees in what officials described as the largest prisoner exchange of the country’s 11-year civil war.
The deal was announced by Saudi and Houthi officials after talks in the Omani capital of Muscat and was presented as a humanitarian step intended to ease suffering and build confidence between the warring sides. According to Saudi Ambassador Mohamed AlJabir, the agreement was signed under the supervision of the Office of the U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen and the International Committee of the Red Cross. He said the arrangement would allow detainees to return to their families.
The Houthi side said the list includes Yemenis as well as seven Saudi nationals and 23 Sudanese nationals. Houthi prisoner affairs official Abdelkader al-Murtada and spokesperson Mohamed Abdulsalam both said the swap would be one of the largest of the war.
The conflict in Yemen began in 2014, when the Houthis captured Sanaa and most of the country’s north, forcing the internationally recognized government into the south and drawing in a Saudi-led coalition. The war has since become one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with more than 150,000 people killed, including fighters and civilians, according to the AP report, and millions more affected by displacement, hunger and economic collapse.
The detainee agreement was reached during a 12-day meeting in Oman and marked the 10th such meeting focused on fulfilling commitments under the 2018 Stockholm Agreement. That earlier framework called for the release of all conflict-related detainees, but progress has been slow and partial.
The U.N. special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said the understanding was a positive and meaningful step that could help relieve the suffering of detainees and their families. The ICRC, which has often served as intermediary for exchanges in Yemen, said it was ready to help with release, transfer and repatriation so that separated families could reunite in a safe and dignified manner.
The agreement does not end the war, and it does not resolve the major political and military divisions that continue to split the country. But for detainees and their relatives, the announcement offers a rare practical gain from diplomacy in a conflict that has otherwise been defined by stalemate.
It also shows that even in a war marked by deep distrust, localized humanitarian agreements can still move forward when they are tightly supervised and limited in scope. Whether the deal leads to broader political progress will depend on whether both sides follow through and whether subsequent negotiations can turn this exchange into a larger pattern of compliance.
