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WORLD NEWS Friday 7 december 2018

Prisoner swap deal bolsters hopes of progress in Yemen talks

By DAVID KEYTON and humanitarian situa-
BRIAN ROHAN tion," Dujarric said.
Associated Press Some Yemeni voices on
RIMBO, Sweden (AP) — Ye- both sides fired off last-
men's warring sides agreed minute demands, sniping
to a broad prisoner swap commentary and finger-
Thursday, sitting down in pointing, while combat
the same room together continued on the ground in
for the first time in years at some areas.
U.N.-sponsored peace talks Fighting raged in the cen-
in Sweden aimed at halting tral city of Taiz, long a con-
a catastrophic war that has tested battleground, where
brought the country to the residents were hopeful yet
brink of famine. highly skeptical they had
Hopes were high that the much to look forward to
talks wouldn't deteriorate amid the poverty.
into further violence as in "We here in Taiz have been
the past, and that the pris- three years without sala-
oner exchange would be ries, and still we are here in
an important first step to- the street, looking for an in-
ward building confidence come," said local Faisal al-
between highly distrustful Asali from a street cafe.
adversaries. An exterior view of Johannesberg Castle, in Rimbo, 50km north of Stockholm, Sweden, Tuesday Griffiths said the talks would
The 3-year-old conflict pits Dec. 4, 2018. address several main points
the internationally recog- Associated Press mentioned by both sides:
nized government, which is broader prisoner exchang-
backed by a Saudi-led co- forcibly detained and in- message of peace." foresee rapid progress to- es, the release of funds to
alition, against Shiite rebels dividuals placed under The fighting in Yemen has ward a political settlement the central bank to pay
known as Houthis, who took house arrest," Griffiths said generated the world's but hope for at least minor civil servants in rebel-con-
the capital of Sanaa in from the venue. "It will al- worst humanitarian crisis steps that would help to trolled territory, a possible
2014. The Saudis intervened low thousands of families to and claimed at least 10,000 address Yemen's worsen- handover of the port at Ho-
the following year. be reunited, and it is prod- lives, with experts estimat- ing humanitarian crisis and deida to the U.N., and reb-
U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths uct of very effective, active ing a much higher toll. prepare a framework for el calls to lift the coalition's
said the two sides have work from both delega- The Saudi-led group has further negotiations. blockade of Sanaa airport
signaled they are seri- tions." conducted thousands of U.N. Secretary-General An- to commercial traffic.
ous about de-escalating The international Red Cross airstrikes, hitting schools, tonio Guterres welcomed "I believe that we can also
the fighting through calls said it would oversee the hospitals and wedding the talks and urged the here in the coming days
they've made in recent prisoner exchange, which parties in what critics call parties to make progress find solutions on specific
weeks, and urged them to is expected to take weeks. reckless bombardment. on the agenda outlined by issues that will improve co-
work to further reduce the The talks in the Swedish The Houthis have, for their Griffiths, U.N. spokesman operation and reduce suf-
violence in the Arab world's town of Rimbo, north of part, fired long-range mis- Stephane Dujarric said in fering," he said.
poorest nation, scene of Stockholm, aim to set up siles into Saudi Arabia and New York. Both the internationally
massive civilian suffering. "a framework for nego- targeted vessels in the Red The U.N. chief appealed recognized government,
"I'm also pleased to an- tiations" on a future peace Sea. Both sides stand ac- to the warring parties "to which is backed by the U.S.-
nounce the signing of an agreement, Griffiths said, cused of war crimes. continue the de-escalation sponsored Saudi-led coali-
agreement on the ex- calling the coming days a U.N. officials, however, of (the key port city of) Ho- tion, and the Iran-aligned
change of prisoners, de- milestone nonetheless and have sought to down- deida and explore other Houthi rebels say they are
tainees, the missing, the urging the parties "to work play expectations from measures to mitigate the striving for peace.q
in good faith ... to deliver a the talks, saying they don't life-threatening economic