SANA’A — Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Houthi group announced Tuesday an agreement to carry out a large-scale prisoner exchange following two weeks of negotiations hosted by Oman.

Government negotiator Majid Fadael said in a post on X that the two sides had agreed to release “thousands of detainees and abductees” as part of the deal.

The Houthi group separately confirmed the agreement, saying it would involve a significant exchange of prisoners between the two sides.

According to the Houthi-led Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, the deal includes the release of 1,700 Houthi prisoners in exchange for 1,200 detainees held by the government.

The committee thanked Omani officials for facilitating the negotiations.

A Yemeni government source said talks with the Houthis began in Muscat on Dec. 12 as part of efforts to advance a prisoner swap.

The agreement follows previous exchanges between the two sides.

In April 2023, the Yemeni government and the Houthis released around 900 prisoners and detainees in a major exchange mediated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations after negotiations in Switzerland.

Yemen has experienced relative calm since April 2022, when a UN-brokered truce halted large-scale fighting between government forces and the Iran-aligned Houthi group, which seized the capital Sanaa in September 2014.

In January this year, the Houthis unilaterally released 153 detainees captured during clashes with government forces.

The exact number of prisoners held by both sides remains unclear. During peace talks in Stockholm in 2018, delegations submitted lists totaling more than 15,000 detainees, while rights groups estimate the figure could be closer to 20,000.

Despite ongoing regional and international mediation efforts, Yemen has yet to reach a comprehensive political settlement. — Agencies