Oct 15, 2020, 4:10 PM

Over 1,000 prisoners of Yemen war to be freed in swap deal

TEHRAN, Oct. 15 (MNA) – Hundreds of prisoners are being freed in the biggest such exchange between the warring sides in Yemen since the conflict there began in 2015.

The warring sides in Yemen’s long conflict will exchange some 1,081 prisoners on Thursday and Friday, under a deal struck in Switzerland last month, Aljazeera reported.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is overseeing the exchange, said that five of its planes had taken off from airports in the Yemeni cities of Abha, Sanaa and Seiyoun on Thursday morning, according to BBC.

A short while ago, the first plane carrying the first batch of freed Yemeni prisoners of the Army and Popular Committees arrived at Sana'a International Airport, Al Masirah reported.

An official reception ceremony was held for the released prisoners upon their arrival at Sana'a airport.

MNA/PR

News ID 164767