Yemeni Official to Asharq Al-Awsat: Prisoner Swap Will Be Held on April 11

From left, Abdul-Qader al-Murtaza, the head of the Houthi delegation in Geneva, Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, and Yahya Mohammed Kazman, representing Yemen government, shake hands during a photo opportunity after the prisoner swap agreement was reached, at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, March 20, 2023. (AP)
From left, Abdul-Qader al-Murtaza, the head of the Houthi delegation in Geneva, Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, and Yahya Mohammed Kazman, representing Yemen government, shake hands during a photo opportunity after the prisoner swap agreement was reached, at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, March 20, 2023. (AP)
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Yemeni Official to Asharq Al-Awsat: Prisoner Swap Will Be Held on April 11

From left, Abdul-Qader al-Murtaza, the head of the Houthi delegation in Geneva, Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, and Yahya Mohammed Kazman, representing Yemen government, shake hands during a photo opportunity after the prisoner swap agreement was reached, at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, March 20, 2023. (AP)
From left, Abdul-Qader al-Murtaza, the head of the Houthi delegation in Geneva, Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, and Yahya Mohammed Kazman, representing Yemen government, shake hands during a photo opportunity after the prisoner swap agreement was reached, at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, March 20, 2023. (AP)

Yemeni deputy minister for human rights Majed Fadail revealed that a planned prisoner swap between the legitimate government and Iran-backed terrorist Houthi militias will take place in April.

The official, who is also a member of the government negotiations delegation that took part in the talks with the Houthis over the deal, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the exchange will kick off on April 11 and that 887 prisoners will be released.

The plan, which is sponsored by the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross, will take place over three days and involve six airports.

The first phase will see the transport of former Defense Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi; Nasser Mansour Hadi, brother of former president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi; and military personnel from Sanaa airport to Aden International Airport. In return, several Houthi detainees will be transported from Aden to Sanaa through the same airports.

On April 12, 19 military personnel from the Arab coalition will be transported from Sanaa airport to an airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. In exchange, Houthi detainees will be flown from Saudi Arabia’s Khamis Mushait airport to Sanaa.

Fadail said the son and brother of Presidential Leadership Council member Tariq Saleh will be among the detainees who will be released. He will be transported from Sanaa airport to Mokha on Yemen’s western coast. Several Houthi detainees will be released from Mokha to Sanaa in exchange.

The final day of the swap, said Fadail, will witness the transport of four journalists, who have been sentenced to death by the Houthis, and several Yemeni soldiers from Sanaa airport to Tadawin airport in the Marib province. In exchange, Houthi prisoners will be transported from Tadawin airport to Sanaa.

The exchange will not include military commander Faisal Rajab and prominent politician Mohammed Qahtan. The government negotiations had pledged that they will be included in the next round of talks over a swap.

Fadail stressed that the government is prioritizing the release of prisoners and people who have been abducted by the Houthis, hoping that all detainees will be freed through an “all for all” deal.

The latest swap deal was reached on March 11 after ten days of negotiations near the Swiss capital Bern. The talks were the latest in a series of meetings that led to releases of prisoners in 2022 and 2020 under a UN-mediated deal known as the Stockholm Agreement.

United Nations envoy Hans Grundberg and the ICRC are expected to arrange and carry out the latest swap.



Iraq Preoccupied with Potential Broad Israeli Attack

Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
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Iraq Preoccupied with Potential Broad Israeli Attack

Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)

Baghdad has been preoccupied this week with serious possibilities that Israel may expand its war on Gaza and Lebanon by striking several targets in Iraq in retaliation to attacks by Iran-backed armed factions.

Concern has been high that Israel may attack government buildings, oil fields and strategic locations, not just the positions of the armed factions that have previously launched attacks against Israel, said sources close to the pro-Iran ruling Coordination Framework.

Media sources have spoken of government speculation that Iraq could come under “300 Israeli attacks”.

The fears in Iraq have been compounded by an Israeli complaint to the United Nations Security Council against seven armed factions and holding Baghdad responsible for the attacks they have carried out against it.

This prompted the government, through the foreign ministry, to send an official letter to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General, Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation in response to the Israeli threats.

The ministry said on Saturday that Iraq is “the cornerstone of stability in the region and world and it is one of the countries that are most committed to the UN Charter.”

“The Zionist entity’s letter to the Security Council is part of a systematic policy aimed at creating claims and excuses in an attempt to expand the conflict in the region.”

It said Iraq has turned to the Security Council out of Iraq’s keenness on the international body carrying out its duty in maintaining international peace and security and the need to rein in the “Zionist aggression in Gaza and Lebanon.”

Moreover, it stressed that Iraq has been keen on exercising restraint when it comes to the use of its airspace to attack a neighboring country.

Israel has used Iraqi airspace to launch attacks against Iran in October.

Iraq underscored the importance of the international community stepping in to “stop this hostile behavior that is a flagrant violation of international law.”

It called for international efforts to stop the Israeli escalation in the region and ensure that international laws and treaties are respected to consolidate security and stability.

Meanwhile, a source close to the Coordination Framework said the main Shiite parties are taking the Israeli threats “very seriously”, urging Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's government to take “all the necessary measures to avert a potential Israeli strike.”

All leaders of armed factions, as well as Shiite leaders, have taken up alternative locations and are moving under great secrecy, confirming that they have changed the majority of their military positions, said the source.

It also dismissed claims that Israeli jets have overflown Iraq, saying nothing has been confirmed, but not ruling out the possibility, especially since US forces have control over Iraqi skies and Iraq is helpless against stopping these violations.

Iraq had submitted a formal complaint to the UN and Security Council over Israel’s use and violation of its airspace to attack Iran.

Analyst and former diplomat Ghazi Faisal said the pro-Iran armed factions have been gathering their forces in the Sinjar province, which is strategic for Iran’s arms deliveries and logistic support to Syria where attacks can be carried out against American forces and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Sinjar is one of the most important strategic bases for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, he added.

Furthermore, he noted that the armed factions insist on continuing the war against Israel, rejecting government calls for calm and neutrality.

The government’s statements are aimed at delivering a message that it “is not directly responsible for the strategy of these factions,” which follow Iran’s policies.

Iraq has repeatedly said that it refuses for its territory to be used to attack another country, but some observers believe that it may allow Iran to do so should Israel strike.