Arya News - The internationally recognized Yemeni government and the rebel Ansar Allah movement (also known as the Houthis) have made progress in prisoner exchange negotiations taking place in the Omani capital of Muscat under the auspices of the United Nations, a Yemeni government source told Sputnik.
"The delegations of the [Yemeni] government and Ansar Allah have reached a mutual understanding on conducting the second phase of the agreement reached in 2022, which involves exchanging 1,400 prisoners," the source said. Direct talks in Muscat have been underway for two weeks, aided by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross. They are being held in a positive atmosphere, with both sides discussing an all-for-all prisoner exchange, the source said. Previously, a source in the Yemeni government told Sputnik that the UN leadership appealed to Oman for help in freeing UN employees held by the Houthis and accused of spying for the United States and Israel. For more than a decade, Yemen has been embroiled in a conflict between the internationally recognized government and the Houthis. Since September 2014, the Houthis have been in control of much of central and northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa.