Yemen - Latest News Update, Information, Photos & Videos on Yemen at Lokmat Times

Aden, May 5 Yemen's government and the Houthi militia have separately announced their readiness to resume UN-facilitated negotiations on the exchange of prisoners and detainees.In a statement, the government's prisoner affairs committee voiced its readiness to join the meetings on May 15 that aimed at putting an end to the plight of prisoners held in Houthi jails, reports Xinhua news agency.It called on the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to continue facilitating the exchange of prisoners between the Yemeni warring sides without preconditions.It also reaffirmed the government's commitment to free all prisoners and put an end to the humanitarian issue on the basis of an "all-for-all" principle.For their part, officials from the Houthi rebel group in Sanaa also said they were fully ready to join the next round of negotiations on prisoner exchange.On Tuesday, Abdulkadir al-Murtada, head of the Houthi prisoner affairs' committee, said he met UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg and his team in Sanaa, and discussed ways to advance the prisoner exchange issue.According to al-Murtada, the Houthis have informed the UN envoy of their willingness to have mutual prison visits as previously arranged as well as to participate in the upcoming negotiations in mid-May.The negotiations may result in the release of more prisoners, end the suffering of thousands of war prisoners, and provide relief to their families in the impoverished Arab country, analysts say.UN-brokered negotiations in March successfully led to the release of around 900 prisoners in April, marking the second largest prisoner exchange between the warring sides since the start of the Yemen civil war over eight years ago.High-profile figures, including Nasser Mansour Hadi, the brother of former President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and Mahmoud Al Subeihi, the country's former Defence Minister, were among those who were freed last month.The prisoner swap comes as part of ongoing efforts aimed at building trust between the government forces and the Houthi militia, who have been engaged in a brutal internal conflict since late 2014.It is also widely regarded as a crucial step toward preparing favourable conditions for and demonstrating both parties' commitment to forthcoming negotiations that aimed at achieving a lasting peace.Yemen has been embroiled in a years-long military conflict after the Houthi militia took control of several northern cities and ousted the government from Sanaa in 2014.Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

YemenFOLLOW

Yemen, Latest News

Aden (Yemen), June 30 Four Yemeni government soldiers were killed in the southern province of Dhalea in a ... ...

Sanaa, June 19 The Yemeni government and the Houthi militia concluded the three-day UN-sponsored talks in Jordan on ... ...

Aden, June 14 Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC) has strongly criticised the internationally-recognised government for causing the economic ... ...

Aden (Yemen), June 12 Yemen's Prime Minister Maeen Abdul-Malik has warned that the "economic war" waged by the ... ...

Aden (Yemen), June 2 Yemen urged international society to fund a UN plan to prevent a huge oil ... ...

Aden (Yemen), May 17 Yemen's internationally-recognised government has reiterated its unwavering commitment to achieving peace in the war-torn ... ...

Aden (Yemen), May 7 Clashes broke out between government forces and Houthi militia in Yemen's southwestern governorate of ... ...

Aden, May 5 Yemen's government and the Houthi militia have separately announced their readiness to resume UN-facilitated negotiations ... ...