LONDON: The UN’s Yemen envoy, Hans Grundberg, announced on Thursday that the country’s warring parties had agreed to release more than 1,600 conflict-related detainees following 14 weeks of negotiations in Jordan, in what he described as the largest prisoner release deal since the war began.
The Yemeni conflict erupted in 2014 when the Iran-aligned Houthi militia seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government to flee.
The UN envoy said the deal demonstrated that “even amid deep mistrust and prolonged conflict, dialogue can still yield results,” adding that the agreement offered “hope and relief to thousands of families who have waited far too long, some for over a decade, for the release of their relatives.”
He praised families of detainees for their advocacy efforts, saying: “Today’s achievement also belongs to them.”
Grundberg described the negotiations as “extraordinarily complex,” saying the parties continued discussions through Ramadan, Eid and a period of heightened regional tensions.
