RIYADH (AA) – A Saudi soldier and seven Houthi rebels have been freed as part of a prisoner swap between Yemen’s rebels and the Saudi-led coalition, a coalition spokesman said.
In a statement, Colonel Turki al-Malki said the Saudi soldier arrived in Riyadh late Tuesday as part of the exchange.
“The coalition has agreed to release seven Houthi detainees,” the spokesman said in the statement cited by Saudi Arabia’s official SPA news agency.
The spokesman said efforts were underway to free all other coalition members held by Houthis, without giving any further details.
Houthi leader Abdul Qader al-Murtada, for his part, said the release of the Saudi soldier came as an “initiative” by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, according to the Houthi-run Saba news agency.
Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014, when the Shia Houthi group overran much of the country and the crisis escalated in 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.
Saudi Arabia and Sunni allies accuse the Houthis of acting as a proxy force for Shia Iran.
Tens of thousands of people, including civilians, are believed to have been killed and the UN estimates that around 14 million Yemenis are at risk of famine.
