Yemen / Anadolu

The Yemeni government and the Houthi group announced the failure to implement the prisoner and detainee exchange agreement, which was scheduled for Saturday, amid mutual accusations over responsibility for the delay.

The head of the government negotiating team on abductees and prisoners, Hadi Haij, said the team 'received, on Friday, a notification from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the office of the UN special envoy to Yemen, that the Houthi militias rejected implementing the deal on its scheduled day Saturday, and postponed it indefinitely,' according to the official Yemeni news agency (Saba) on Friday evening.

He added that this notification came after the government team had completed all procedures to implement the exchange deal and release the abductees and detainees, despite what he described as 'obstacles' set by the Houthi group.

Haij held the Houthis 'responsible for failing to complete the exchange deal on its scheduled date, and aborting any efforts to alleviate the suffering of Yemenis, detainees, abductees, and their families.'

He considered this procedure 'a confirmation that the Houthi group continues to exploit the humanitarian file of detainees and abductees for political, military, and economic blackmail, and its disregard for the suffering of Yemenis.'

In contrast, the head of the Houthi-affiliated National Committee for Prisoners' Affairs, Abdul Qader al-Mortada, said that 'the delay in implementing the prisoner exchange deal is due to the other party's procrastination in implementing the agreed-upon commitments, despite the committee's full readiness to proceed with the deal on its scheduled date,' according to the Houthi-run Saba agency.

He added that the group 'fulfilled all its commitments and was ready to implement the deal according to the agreed timetable, but the other party procrastinated in implementing its part, which led to a delay in completing the exchange process.'

He explained that 'the other party refused to add the remaining prisoners it holds, which hindered the implementation of the agreement on its scheduled date, despite the committee completing all required procedures.'

On May 14 last year, the Yemeni government and the Houthi group signed an agreement in the Jordanian capital Amman to release about 1,700 detainees from both sides, after consultations that lasted three months.

The agreement includes the Houthis releasing 7 Saudis and 20 Sudanese from the Arab coalition forces, as this is the largest prisoner exchange deal in Yemen, and it was scheduled to be implemented on July 11, 2026.