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May 14, 2026
Analyzed by Llama- 4 Scout 17B 16E Instruct

Yemen Government and Houthis Agree to Release Over 1,600 POWs in Largest Swap

AI Summary
Yemen's internationally recognized government and the Houthi group have signed a UN-backed agreement to exchange over 1,600 detainees, marking the largest prisoner exchange since the country's civil war began in 2014.

The Prisoner Exchange Agreement

Yemen's internationally recognised government and the Houthi group have signed a United Nations-backed agreement in Jordan to exchange more than 1,600 detainees, marking the largest prisoner exchange since the country's civil war began in September 2014.

Details of the Agreement

Under the accord, the Houthis will release 580 prisoners, including seven Saudis and 20 Sudanese, while the government will release 1,100 Houthi prisoners, Houthi official Abdulqader al-Mortada said in a post on social media on Thursday.

  • The Houthis will release 580 prisoners.
  • The government will release 1,100 Houthi prisoners.

The Data Analysis

Nearly 1,728 detainees from both sides will be released as part of what Yahya Kazman, the deputy head of the government negotiating team, called the “largest” agreement of its kind.

The Impact Analysis

The deal follows more than three months of negotiations held in the Jordanian capital Amman in line with an agreement reached by both parties in December after UN-facilitated consultations in the Omani capital Muscat.

The two sides agreed to hold further talks on additional releases and allow mutual visits to detention facilities. They also agreed on an implementation plan with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to move forward with the release operation.

The Prediction

“The agreement includes the release of a number of coalition forces personnel, members of the armed forces and security services, fighters from various military formations and the popular resistance, as well as politicians and journalists who spent years in Houthi detention,” Kazman said on social media.

The ICRC also said it “welcomed” the agreement between the two parties, saying in a statement that it “represents a crucial step forward”.