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Yemen Completes Second Phase of Prisoner Swap

Saudi deputy Chief of Staff Mutlaq al-Azima honors one of the Sudanese prisoners who was released. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi deputy Chief of Staff Mutlaq al-Azima honors one of the Sudanese prisoners who was released. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Yemen Completes Second Phase of Prisoner Swap

Saudi deputy Chief of Staff Mutlaq al-Azima honors one of the Sudanese prisoners who was released. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi deputy Chief of Staff Mutlaq al-Azima honors one of the Sudanese prisoners who was released. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The second phase of a prisoner swap was carried out on Saturday between the Yemeni government and Iran-backed Houthi militias.

Nineteen prisoners from the Arab coalition were released by the Houthis and flown to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, while some 250 Houthi detainees were flown to Sanaa airport.

The coalition said 16 of those released by the Houthis were Saudis and three were Sudanese. Among them were relatives of Presidential Leadership Council member Tariq Saleh.

They were received at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport by Saudi Chief of Staff Fayyadh Al Ruwaili, his deputy Mutlaq al-Azima, commander of the joint forces, leaders of military branches, head of the military apparatus at the National Guard and the military attache at the Sudanese embassy.

Yemeni deputy minister for human rights and spokesman for the government negotiations team Majed Fadail told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saturday's swap included some 300 prisoners from al-Mokha in western Yemen, who were flown to Sanaa, and 250 Houthi prisoners held in Abha in southern Saudi Arabia, who were flown to Sanaa.

The fist phase of the exchange was held on Friday and witnessed the release of 318 detainees from both sides. They were released in four flights, operated by the International Committee of the Red Cross, between Sanaa and the Yemeni interim capital Aden.

The entire exchange will witness the release of 887 detainees. Sunday will witness the release of 107 prisoners from Marib who will be taken to Sanaa and 90 prisoners from Sanaa who will be taken to Marib.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.