Houthis, Yemen government to exchange nearly 3,000 prisoners

By AFP 23 December 2025, 12:31 pm

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Supporters of Yemen's Houthis brandish weapons during a rally condemning Israel, in Sanaa on October 17, 2025. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels and its internationally recognized government have agreed to a prisoner swap that includes nearly 3,000 people in total, including seven Saudis, officials from both sides say.

Majed Fadhail, a member of the government delegation for the prisoner swap talks, says they agreed with the Houthis on a new exchange that would see “thousands” of war prisoners released.

Abdulqader al-Mortada, an official with the Houthi delegation, says in a statement on X that “we signed an agreement today with the other party to implement a large-scale prisoner exchange deal involving 1,700 of our prisoners in exchange for 1,200 of theirs, including seven Saudis and 23 Sudanese.”