Release Of Prisoners Under Intra-Yemeni Agreements Should Take 10 Days - ICRC

The process of releasing prisoners under the intra-Yemeni agreements reached in the Swedish city of Rimbo, located north of Stockholm, should take 10 days, Regional Director for Near and Middle East of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Fabrizio Carboni told Sputnik.

GENEVA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th December, 2018) The process of releasing prisoners under the intra-Yemeni agreements reached in the Swedish city of Rimbo, located north of Stockholm, should take 10 days, Regional Director for Near and middle East of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Fabrizio Carboni told Sputnik.

Last week, the UN-mediated discussions between Yemen's warring parties concluded with an agreement to cease hostilities in and withdraw forces from the port of Al Hudaydah. The parties also agreed to create a UN-chaired monitoring committee in addition to establishing humanitarian corridors to the city of Taizz, as well as exchange more than 4,000 prisoners of war.

"In theory, [the release of prisoners should take] 10 days ... It's not going be smooth, it's going to be complex. It's going to be full of ups and downs. But I am confident that if the parties stay with the same attitude, we'll get there," Carboni said.

He pointed out that the ICRC had not yet finished forming the team of international experts that would provide the parties to the agreement with the necessary assistance.

"It's a complex operation. We need to mobilize a lot of people. At first you need a team, Arabic speaking, who can be deployed to the places where people can be released. Because what we do before they [prisoners] are released is we talk to them, to make sure that they want to go back. Because some of them are afraid [of that]. So we need to be sure that you don't force someone back and then they're exposed to violence. After you make sure that the health aspect is fine, and you go to the collection point. And that's where the logistic part kicks in. We have already identified the big planes we're going to use. Only ICRC planes. Now we're in the phase of securing," Carboni added.

Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and the Houthi rebels for several years. The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015.