File Photo: Houthi fighters disembark an ICRC plane upon their arrival at Sanaa Airport after their release in a prisoner swap. Reuters
According to a tweet by Majid Fadail, a member of the Yemeni government's negotiation team, the final details of the swap still need to be ironed out.
"Due to the large numbers of prisoners set to be exchanged, there are still some arrangements that need to be done. Therefore, the Red Cross asked for some additional time, three more days," he stated in a tweet.
Meanwhile, Abdulkadir Al-Murtada, head of the Houthi prisoner committee, was quoted by Al-Masirah TV, a network run by the Houthis, as confirming that his group was also informed about the three-day delay, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua.
On 20 March, the warring sides in Yemen reached a swap deal after 10 days of negotiations in Switzerland, facilitated by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg. According to the deal, the ICRC was responsible for transporting the released detainees via flights, originally planned between 11-13 April.
The prisoner exchange agreement is seen as a significant breakthrough after years of conflict in Yemen, which began in late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia took control of several northern cities, leading to the displacement of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government from the capital, Sanaa.
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