Page 9 - AT

A9
WORLD NEWS Wednesday 12 december 2018

Yemen’s warring sides said to agree on prisoner swap

By DAVID KEYTON “The Houthis provided a serious. For us, we are seri- tics” with partners, said U.N. dress Thursday’s closing ses-
SAMY MAGDY list of 7,487 captives and ous and ready at the mo- deputy spokesman Farhan sion of the current round of
Associated Press detainees. We provided a ment,” he said. Haq. talks.
RIMBO, Sweden (AP) — (list) of 8,576 detainees,” Houthi representative “If this can be achieved, The Shiite rebels seized the
Both sides in Yemen’s civil capital of Sanaa in 2014.
war agreed Tuesday to ex- The Saudis intervened the
change more than 15,000 following year. The civil war
prisoners by Jan. 20, a mem- has killed at least 10,000
ber of the rebel delegation people, though the figure is
said, in what could be the believed to be higher, and
first major breakthrough turned Yemen into one of
in the 4-year-old conflict world’s worst humanitarian
that has killed thousands crises with 22 million of its 29
of people and left millions million people in need of
more facing hunger. aid, according to the U.N.
Delegations from the inter- While the prisoner agree-
nationally recognized gov- ment created a measure
ernment of President Abed of goodwill between the
Rabbo Mansour Hadi and warring sides, an agree-
Iran-backed Shiite rebels ment to reduce violence
said at news conferences in in the strategic port city of
Sweden that they have ex- Hodeida would create a
changed prisoner lists. The climate more conducive
lists will be reviewed over toward seeking a settle-
four weeks, ahead of a fi- ment to the conflict.
nal swap to be facilitated Rebel delegation mem-
by the International Com- ber Gamal Amer said both
mittee of the Red Cross, the sides are discussing initial
representatives said. Yemenis walk through market in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. draft proposals for Hodei-
The move is a crucial step Associated Press da. The proposals include a
in implementing an agree- halt to all fighting, the with-
ment reached earlier this said Askar Zouail of the Abdul-Qader el-Murtaza that certainly is a positive drawal of troops to the city
month on the exchange of government delegation. said the government list in- step forward,” he told re- limits and later out of the
all prisoners held by both “But the number of detain- cludes prisoners from mem- porters at U.N. headquar- province, while allowing
sides. ees (held by the rebels) ber countries in the coali- ters in New York. “Any mea- U.N. oversight and setting
The government, which is exceeds 18,000 detainees tion, such as Sudan and the sures that involve increas- up a local administration,
backed by a Saudi-led co- since the beginning of the United Arab Emirates. ing the amount of trust Amer said in video com-
alition, said it has provided war” in March 2015. He said Jan. 20 was set a and confidence that’s built ments.
U.N. mediators with an ini- While U.N. officials at the final date for the prison- up can, we believe, help An agreement on Hodeida
tial list of 8,200 prisoners al- talks called the exchange er swap overseen by the achieve a lasting resolution is expected to be reached
legedly held by the rebels, of prisoner lists “very im- Red Cross. A period of four to this conflict.” before heading to anoth-
known as Houthis. pressive,” the sheer size of weeks was set for any ques- Martin Griffiths, the U.N.’s er future round of peace
The government list includ- the swap could potentially tions and for verification of Yemen envoy, told report- talks, Amer added, without
ed members of the fam- delay the process beyond the prisoners’ names, “then ers in Sweden on Monday elaborating. U.N. humani-
ily of former President Ali the Jan. 20 deadline and there will be 10 days for that he was encouraged tarian chief Mark Lowcock
Abdullah Saleh, who was hinder implementation of the Red Cross to prepare by “the positive and serious said Monday that 20 mil-
killed by the Houthis in De- the deal. logistic and technical mat- spirit” both sides have dem- lion people, amounting to
cember 2017. It also includ- Othman Mujali, who is agri- ters for the transfer and ex- onstrated in the talks. 70 percent of the popula-
ed more than 300 children culture minister in the Hadi change of the prisoners,” Haq announced late Tues- tion of Yemen, are hungry,
and 88 women. government, said both el-Murtaza said. day that U.N. Secretary- adding that there has been
The rebel delegation said it sides are considering a The U.N. is hopeful that de- General Antonio Guterres “a significant, dramatic
has provided its own list of mechanism for implement- tails of the prisoner release would hold meetings deterioration” of the hu-
prisoners held by the gov- ing the swap. will be worked out and with the government and manitarian situation in the
ernment. “We hope the other side is “we can handle the logis- Houthi delegations and ad- country.q