File Photo: Freed Huthi prisoners stand as they wait to board an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) chartered plane at Aden Airport, Aden, Yemen. AFP
The agreement between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control Yemen's north, and the Saudi-supported internationally recognised government comes despite high tensions between Tehran and Riyadh over the US-Israeli war on Iran and its ramifications.
"The parties agreed today to release over 1,600 conflict-related detainees, an unprecedented number in the history of the current conflict in Yemen," UN special envoy Hans Grundberg said after the meeting.
"This outcome is the result of 15 weeks of intensive negotiations under the auspices of the UN in Amman, Jordan," he added.
"This is a moment of profound relief for thousands of Yemenis who have endured long and painful waits (for) the return of their family members. The steadfast and courageous advocacy of the families of detainees has been instrumental in bringing us to this point."
More than 1,000 prisoners were exchanged in 2020 and about 900 in 2023, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Yemen's civil war, which triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, raged from 2014 until 2022, when a UN-brokered truce calmed the fighting.
The ICRC, which will organise the release as a neutral intermediary, called it a "crucial step forward".
"Today's agreement has brought families closer to the reunifications they have been so anxiously waiting for," said Christine Cipolla, the ICRC's head of delegation in Yemen.
"We count on all parties to extend their full cooperation so that we can begin preparations to implement the agreement and ensure the process runs smoothly."
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