Yemen to exchange almost 1,700 prisoners in historic swap

Approximately 1,700 prisoners are set to be exchanged between the conflicting sides in Yemen.

The country's internationally recognized government has reached an agreement with the Iran-backed Houthi movement on a prisoner exchange, the largest so far since the outbreak of the war in 2014, News.Az reports, citing Sweden Herald.

The agreement was signed in Jordan after 14 weeks of negotiations, and builds on the agreement reached just before Christmas last year. At that time, it was said that almost 3,000 prisoners would be exchanged, but now it will be just over half that number - if Thursday's agreement is followed.

Around 1,100 Houthis are to be released, while the Houthis are releasing around 600 prisoners as well as "a number of politicians and media representatives", according to Houthi representative Abdelkader al-Murtada.

It is not clear when the exchange will be implemented.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli