ADEN, Yemen, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's internationally recognized government announced on Thursday that it had signed an agreement with the Houthi group to exchange around 1,750 detainees from both sides following months of UN-sponsored negotiations held in Jordan.
The agreement, reached during talks in the Jordanian capital of Amman, includes the release of detainees linked to the Yemeni government, the Houthis, allied military formations, and members of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, according to statements issued by the two sides.
Yahya Kazman, deputy head of the government's negotiation committee, described the arrangement as the largest prisoner exchange deal since the conflict began, saying it represented an important humanitarian step aimed at easing the suffering of detainees and their families.
The government delegation said the agreement forms the first phase of a broader "all-for-all" prisoner exchange arrangement reached during negotiations in Oman's capital Muscat in December 2025.
Efforts would continue to secure the release of all remaining detainees as part of ongoing initiatives to resolve one of the conflict's most sensitive humanitarian issues, according to the government delegation.
Meanwhile, Abdul Qader al-Murtada, head of the Houthis' prisoner affairs committee, said the two sides signed final exchange lists in Amman covering about 1,100 Houthi detainees held by government forces and around 580 detainees held by the Houthis.
In a statement posted on X, al-Murtada said the 580 detainees held by the Houthis include seven Saudis and 20 Sudanese prisoners captured during the conflict.
He added that implementation of the agreement would begin after the completion of arrangements coordinated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Yemen has been gripped by conflict since late 2014 when Houthis seized control of the capital Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized government.
A UN-mediated truce between the Yemeni government and the Houthis, brokered in April 2022, lasted six months before expiring. However, both sides have largely maintained a "de facto ceasefire" since then.
The last major UN-mediated detainees swap between the two sides took place in 2023, with around 900 detainees released. ■
