Local Editor
A senior official from Yemen’s Ansarullah movement has rejected reports of a major prisoner swap deal between warring parties during ongoing UN-brokered talks in Kuwait.
The denial came after some media reports said that Ansarullah representatives and delegates loyal to Saudi-backed fugitive president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi had reached a preliminary agreement to release half of the prisoners held by both sides within 20 days.
Nasir Baqiz Quoz, a senior member of Ansarullah delegation, told Lebanon’s Al-Ahd news network that only some proposals about a prisoner swap were discussed at a meeting of the joint working group on detainees formed by UN special envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
Mane al-Matari, who heads Hadi delegation to the talks, had earlier said, "It was agreed during the meeting to release 50 percent of the prisoners and detainees within the next 20 days."
Sources close to the Hadi camp had said that the two sides will meet again on Wednesday to finalize the mechanism on how and when the exchange will take place.
Yemen’s warring parties resumed face-to-face talks on Monday following a two-day interruption after an appeal by the UN envoy. The groups have discussed key issues on political and security matters and the release of detainees.
The peace talks on Yemen, which began on April 21 in Kuwait City, have failed to establish peace as delegations trade accusations of violation of ceasefire that took effect on April 11.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
