Yemen govt hands over 26 bodies to Houthis as gesture of ‘goodwill’ ahead of talks
Sanaa: Yemen’s government said it handed over 26 bodies of the Houthi group as a gesture of “goodwill” ahead of the expected resumption of talks sponsored by the United Nations.
In the statement broadcast by state-run television, the government said on Friday, the bodies were handed over to a local mediator, under the supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Xinhua news agency reported.
It said the bodies belong to Houthi members who had been killed recently in sporadic battles in the northeastern provinces of Marib and al-Jawf, east and northeast of the Houthi-held capital Sanaa.
The state-run Saba news agency reported that the remains were transferred after the Houthi side verified their identities through the mediator.
Yahya Kazman, head of the government’s negotiation committee, said the unilateral step is intended to demonstrate goodwill in advancing the resolution of the issue of detainees, abductees, and those forcibly disappeared.
He noted that the move comes ahead of a new round of negotiations on the detainee issue, scheduled to be held in the coming days under the auspices of international partners.
The Houthis have yet to comment.
Last week, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said he participated in a mediation meeting in Muscat, hosted by Oman, suggesting that peace talks between the Yemeni warring parties would be resumed soon.
The Yemeni government and the Houthi group carried out a major UN-mediated prisoner exchange in 2023, involving the release of around 900 detainees. An earlier large-scale swap took place in 2020, during which roughly 1,000 prisoners were freed by both sides.
Yemen has been engulfed in civil conflict since late 2014, when the Houthi group seized control of large parts of the country, including the capital Sanaa, prompting the internationally recognized government to relocate.
Frontline clashes have significantly declined since April 2022 following the announcement of a UN-mediated truce, though the broader political settlement remains unresolved.