Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Iran-aligned Houthi movement have agreed to free more than 1,600 detainees, the largest prisoner exchange of the country’s 11-year civil war. The agreement was signed on Thursday in Amman, Jordan.
The deal followed 14 weeks of negotiations observed by United Nations officials and the International Committee of the Red Cross. It builds on talks held in Oman in December 2025, where the two sides discussed releasing some 2,900 detainees.
Of nearly 1,700 people covered by the agreement, about 1,100 are affiliated with the Houthis. Among the roughly 580 detainees to be released by the Houthi side are seven Saudi nationals and 20 Sudanese.
Yahya Kazman, who led the government delegation, said in a post on X that a number of politicians and media professionals held by the Houthis would also be freed under the arrangement.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the agreement and urged both parties to move quickly toward implementation so that families could be reunited. Previous exchanges in Yemen’s conflict have at times stalled between signing and execution.