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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 18 February 2020

In this Feb. 13, 2020 file photo, former South African President FW
de Klerk waits for President Cyril Ramaphosa to deliver his State
of the Nation Address in Cape Town, South Africa.
Associated Press

Ex-South African leader

de Klerk sorry for Yemeni Shiite fighters stand guard during a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's Mideast
plan in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 31, 2020.
apartheid comment Associated Press

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME can archbishop Desmond UN: Warring parties in Yemen
Associated Press Tutu urged de Klerk to with-
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — draw his latest remarks. agree on major prisoner trade
Former South African presi- De Klerk's foundation said it
dent FW de Klerk on Mon- was withdrawing the state-
day apologized and with- ment and apologized for By SAMY MAGDY government. to move forward with the
drew his statement that the "confusion, anger and Associated Press The U.N. mission in Yemen agreed-upon prisoner ex-
the country's former harsh hurt that it has caused." CAIRO (AP) — Yemen's war- said that both the rebels change "with the utmost
system of racial separation Apartheid was declared a ring sides have agreed to and Yemeni government sense of urgency." He did
known as apartheid was crime against humanity by implement a long-delayed had decided to "immedi- not elaborate when they
not a crime against hu- the United Nations in 1973. and major prisoner swap, ately begin with exchang- would start the exchange.
manity. The U.N. was among the the United Nations said on ing the lists for the upcom- Franz Rauchenstein, the
De Klerk, the last president organizations criticizing de Sunday, in a sign that talks ing release" of prisoners. head of the ICRC in Ye-
under apartheid, caused Klerk for his statement. to end the disastrous war Sunday's statement came men's capital, Sanaa, wel-
an uproar with the com- De Klerk said he aligned between the country's in- after seven days of meet- comed the step as "en-
ment during an interview himself with the Rome Stat- ternationally recognized ings between the two sides couraging."
last week with state broad- ute which created the In- government and its Houthi in Jordan's capital, Am- "Today, despite ongoing
caster SABC. ternational Criminal Court rebels could be making man. clashes, we saw that the
De Klerk announced the and includes the crime progress. "Today the parties showed parties have found com-
release of Nelson Mandela of apartheid as a crime It would be the "first official us that even with the grow- mon humanitarian ground
from prison 30 years ago, against humanity. large-scale" exchange of ing challenges on the that will allow many detain-
paving the way for the end "It can also be seen as the its kind since the beginning ground, the confidence ees to return to their loved
of apartheid and South Af- legislative expression of of the conflict in the Arab they have been building ones," Rauchenstein said.
rica's first all-race elections Nelson Mandela's state- World's poorest country, can still yield positive re- The war in Yemen has also
in 1994 that saw Mandela ment during his inaugural according to the U.N. sults," the U.N. envoy Martin spawned the world's worst
voted into power. address that 'never, never The prisoner swap deal was Griffiths said. humanitarian crisis, leaving
De Klerk was later awarded and never again shall it be seen as a breakthrough The U.N. mission did not dis- millions suffering from food
a Nobel Peace Prize with that this beautiful land will during 2018 peace talks in close specific numbers for and medical shortages. It
Mandela for their role in the again experience the op- Sweden. The Houthis and the expected prisoner ex- has killed over 100,000 peo-
country's transition. pression of one by anoth- the internationally recog- change. ple, including fighters and
However, de Klerk's views er,'" de Klerk said. nized government agreed Abdul-Qader al-Murtaza, civilians, according to the
on apartheid have re- An online petition led by then to several confidence- a rebel official in charge Armed Conflict Location &
mained divisive. His latest prominent South African building measures, includ- of prisoners' affairs, said in Event Data Project, which
comments came as South lawyer Dali Mpofu calling ing a cease-fire in the stra- a tweet that the first phase tracks violence reports in
Africa celebrated the 30th for de Klerk's Nobel Peace tegic port city of Hodeida. of the deal includes the Yemen.
anniversary of Mandela's Prize to be withdrawn had Implementation of the ten- release of more than 1400 Houthi spokesman Moham-
release. received more than 10,000 tative peace plan stum- prisoners from the two med Abdel-Salam said
Fellow Nobel Peace laure- signatures by Monday bled amid ongoing military sides. He said talks would Saudi and Sudanese pris-
ate and former South Afri- afternoon.q offensives and a deep- continue for another two oners would be included
seated distrust between days to "prepare and revise in the release from his side.
the two sides. the final lists." The Saudi-led coalition has
The conflict also has been The talks were co-chaired brought into Yemen Suda-
a theater for the regional by Griffiths' office and the nese fighters on its side.
rivalry between Iran, which International Committee of Yemeni Foreign Minister
backs the Houthi rebels, the Red Cross, ICRC. Repre- Mohammed Abdullah
and Saudi Arabia, which sentatives from the Saudi- al-Hadrami said he wel-
leads a military coalition led coalition also attended comed the "phased agree-
supporting the internation- the talks, the U.N. said. ment" to release prisoners,
ally recognized Yemeni Griffiths urged both parties in a tweet Sunday.q