Positive tone reported in Yemen prisoner exchange talks

• Houthi officials describe a positive atmosphere in UN-backed prisoner exchange talks in Muscat.
• Any agreement would mark the first formal exchange since April 2023.

Yemen’s Houthi movement said a positive atmosphere prevailed during ongoing prisoner exchange talks with the government in the Omani capital, Muscat.

- UN-sponsored negotiations continue -

Nasr al-Din Amer, deputy head of the Houthi Media Authority, said negotiations were continuing between a Houthi delegation and government representatives under the auspices of the United Nations and its envoy, Hans Grundberg.

Amer made the remarks to Houthi-affiliated media, as reported by the Sep. 26 news website linked to the group’s Ministry of Defense. He described the talks as proceeding “in a positive atmosphere” but offered no further details.

The talks focus on detainees held by both sides since the outbreak of the war, including fighters, political detainees, and civilians detained during military operations, raids, and arrests over the past decade.

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As of 07:50 GMT, neither the Yemeni government nor the United Nations had publicly commented. On Friday, however, a Yemeni government source told Anadolu Agency, speaking on condition of anonymity, that consultations with the Houthis had begun in Muscat on a potential prisoner exchange framework.

Yemen has seen a relative lull in fighting since April 2022, following nearly 11 years of war between forces loyal to the internationally recognized government and Houthi fighters, who have controlled several provinces, including the capital, Sana’a, since September 2014.

The prisoner issue has remained one of the most sensitive files in the conflict, with thousands of families on both sides seeking information about missing relatives.

Read more: Southern Transitional Council seizes control across southern Yemen

- Previous exchange efforts -

The most recent negotiated exchange took place in April 2023, when about 900 detainees were released. The deal included Saudi and Sudanese coalition troops and was mediated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations following talks in Switzerland.

On January 25, 2025, the Houthis unilaterally released 153 individuals captured during the war, a move described at the time as a humanitarian gesture.

The total number of prisoners held by both sides remains unclear. During UN-sponsored talks in Stockholm in 2018, each party submitted lists of more than 15,000 detainees. Human rights organizations estimate the actual number of prisoners and missing persons linked to the conflict may be closer to 20,000.