News - Yemen: Yemen’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has extended congratulations to the families of detainees following an agreement on a prisoner exchange reached under Omani mediation in the Omani capital, Muscat.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the ministry welcomed the prisoner swap agreement concluded in Muscat with Saudi Arabia and other parties, saying it “extends its sincere congratulations to the families of prisoners who will reunite with their loved ones after years of suffering and prolonged waiting.”

The ministry expressed Yemen’s appreciation—on behalf of its leadership, government, and people—for Oman’s “significant role” in advancing the political settlement in Yemen, including efforts related to the detainee issue. It noted that the agreement provides for the release of 1,700 Yemeni prisoners in exchange for 1,200 detainees held by other parties, including seven Saudis and 23 Sudanese.

The statement also praised the contributions of the Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen and the International Committee of the Red Cross for their roles in facilitating the process.

Concluding the statement, the ministry voiced hope that the step would help unlock progress on remaining humanitarian issues, paving the way toward ending the war and blockade and achieving peace in Yemen.

The last UN-supervised prisoner exchange took place in April 2023, a year after a truce agreement. Since then, efforts to advance the humanitarian issue have stalled amid continued political tensions and external pressure, despite a halt in Saudi-Emirati airstrikes on Yemen since 2022 in exchange for a cessation of Yemeni attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE. 

Key humanitarian issues—including the reopening of Sana’a International Airport, easing restrictions on goods entering Hodeidah port, and the payment of public-sector salaries—have remained unresolved.

Yemeni authorities have repeatedly warned that prolonging the state of “no war, no peace” without tangible humanitarian progress risks renewed escalation.

The prisoners’ issue is considered one of the most sensitive humanitarian dossiers in Yemen, with previous exchange deals serving as rare confidence-building measures amid years of war and blockade imposed by the Saudi-led aggression coalition. 

Oman has repeatedly played a key mediating role in prisoner negotiations, contributing to limited breakthroughs despite ongoing military and political tensions.