The second plane carrying 40 Houthi prisoners released by Saudi Arabia has arrived in Aden, the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen said on Friday.
A total of 108 Houthi prisoners will be released in three phases as part of Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian initiative aimed at supporting peace and dialogue between the Yemeni parties, the coalition added.
Aden airport is preparing for the arrival of the third plane, which will transport the rest of the prisoners who are scheduled to arrive in Aden later.
The prisoners are expected to be transported to Sanaa.
Foreign fighters who fought alongside the Houthis and were imprisoned will be handed over to their countries’ embassies, the coalition said.
The coalition is coordinating with the International Committee of the Red Cross to transfer prisoners to Sanaa.
"The prisoner exchange is of interest to the political and military leadership, which always emphasizes dealing with this from purely humanitarian grounds, away from political and military calculations or gains," the spokesman for the coalition forces, Brigadier General Turki Al-Maliki, said.
The United Nations announced in April that the Yemeni parties agreed to a two-month cessation of military operations in Yemen, in addition to the opening of Sanaa Airport to predetermined regional destinations, as well as the approval of the entry of ships carrying fuel to the port of Hodeidah.
The announcement of the truce came coincided with the talks in Riyadh, where the formation of a presidential leadership council was announced to take over the political, military and security management of the state throughout the transitional phase, headed by Rashad Muhammad Al-Alimi, with seven other members.
As part of the truce negotiations, the coalition and Houthis also discussed a potential prisoner swap involving Houthi and coalition prisoners.
The last major prisoner exchange, involving more than 1,000 detainees, took place in 2020.
