The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Friday began facilitating the exchange of nearly 900 prisoners detained in Yemen’s long-running war. The exchange is expected to last several days, with only 318 prisoners exchanged and reunited with their families during the first day of the operation. The operation represents the most significant prisoner exchange since the parties to the conflict released more than 1,000 individuals in October 2020.

The ICRC will act as the neutral intermediary between Yemen’s government and the Houthi rebels by helping to relocate the prisoners. The ICRC announced they will use their planes “to fly the detainees into and out of multiple cities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.”

Fabrizio Carboni, ICRC’s regional director for the Near and Middle East described the move as “a glimmer of hope amidst great suffering.” Carboni also commented that he hoped the move would provide the momentum for a lasting political solution to the conflict.

The release includes four Yemen journalists, previously detained and sentenced to death by a Houthi-controlled court. Amnesty International previously criticized Yemen judicial authorities for harassing and prosecuting journalists critical of the government. Amnesty International argued their actions represent a threat to the right to freedom of expression under international standards. A UN investigation also found evidence of widespread arbitrary detention in Yemen in an “alarming pattern of the repression of journalists and human rights defenders.”

In November 2022, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk denounced the Houthi movement for committing war crimes in Yemen. Yemen’s civil war began in September 2014, when Iranian-backed Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including Sana’a. In early 2015, a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia entered the war to restore the Yemeni government to power. Roads around Yemen’s third largest city have been blocked by Houthi forces since 2015. More than 150,000 people have been killed during the war.

Friday’s operation is the results of talks in March where the parties to the conflict in Yemen agreed to free 887 detainees. The negotiations are the latest in a series of talks under the UN-mediated Stockholm Agreement. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk previously called on Yemen to “heed the calls of a population exhausted by eights years of brutal warfare, and move decisively towards a UN-led peace process.”