ICRC: Yemen Prisoner Exchange Begins

A person waves as an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)-chartered plane carrying freed prisoners arrives at Sanaa Airport, amid a prisoner swap, in Sanaa, Yemen April 14, 2023. (Reuters)
A person waves as an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)-chartered plane carrying freed prisoners arrives at Sanaa Airport, amid a prisoner swap, in Sanaa, Yemen April 14, 2023. (Reuters)
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ICRC: Yemen Prisoner Exchange Begins

A person waves as an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)-chartered plane carrying freed prisoners arrives at Sanaa Airport, amid a prisoner swap, in Sanaa, Yemen April 14, 2023. (Reuters)
A person waves as an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)-chartered plane carrying freed prisoners arrives at Sanaa Airport, amid a prisoner swap, in Sanaa, Yemen April 14, 2023. (Reuters)

The release and swap of nearly 900 detainees by the two sides in Yemen's conflict began on Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

The ICRC, which is managing the process, said its planes would be used to carry the released detainees between six cities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Warring parties agreed at negotiations in Switzerland last month to free 887 detainees and to meet again in May to discuss further releases.

Negotiators had hoped for an "all for all" deal involving all remaining detainees during the 10 days of talks held 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.

"With this act of goodwill, hundreds of families torn apart by conflict are being reunited ... Our deep desire is that these releases provide momentum for a broader political solution," said Fabrizio Carboni, the ICRC's regional director for the Near and Middle East.

Riyadh and Tehran last month agreed to restore diplomatic ties severed in 2016, raising hopes that Yemen's peace process would see progress.

A Saudi delegation on Thursday concluded peace talks in Sanaa with the Iran-backed Houthi militias whose officials cited progress and said further discussions were needed to iron out remaining differences.



Dozens Die of Mysterious Illness in Besieged Sudan Town

FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, displaced from Jezira state due to RSF violence, sit under a tree in New Halfa, Kassala state, Sudan, November 3, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, displaced from Jezira state due to RSF violence, sit under a tree in New Halfa, Kassala state, Sudan, November 3, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig/File Photo
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Dozens Die of Mysterious Illness in Besieged Sudan Town

FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, displaced from Jezira state due to RSF violence, sit under a tree in New Halfa, Kassala state, Sudan, November 3, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sudanese people, displaced from Jezira state due to RSF violence, sit under a tree in New Halfa, Kassala state, Sudan, November 3, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig/File Photo

At least 73 people have died of mysterious causes in the Sudanese town of al-Hilaliya, besieged by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the Sudanese Doctors Union said late on Wednesday.
It is one of dozens of villages that have come under attack in eastern El Jezira state since the defection of a top RSF commander to the army, which prompted revenge attacks that have displaced more than 135,000 people.
The war between the two forces has created the world's largest humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 11 million and plunging more into hunger while drawing in foreign powers and prompting fears of state collapse, Reuters said.
While high death tolls in other parts of Jezira came as a result of RSF shelling and gunfire, in Hilaliya people have fallen ill with diarrhea, overwhelming a local hospital according to the union and three people from the area.
A network blackout enforced by the RSF has made it difficult to determine the exact cause.
One man who spoke to Reuters said three of his family members had died of the same illness, but he only found out days later when others escaped to an area with internet access.
Those who wish to leave must pay high sums at RSF checkpoints, said another man.
According to pro-democracy activists, the siege began on Oct. 29 when the RSF raided the town, killing five and surrounding residents inside three mosques.
Hilaliya is home to the family of defected commander Abuagla Keikal, which locals say may explain the siege of a previously stable trade hub that had housed 50,000 people, including many displaced from other areas.
The town's markets and warehouses were looted, witnesses said.
Satellite imagery from a Yale Humanitarian Lab report showed rapid increase in cemeteries in several Jezira towns since the latest revenge attacks began in late October. It also showed evidence of the burning of agricultural fields in the village of Azrag.