Yemen Monitor/Aden/Exclusive:
Negotiations between the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the armed Houthi group to release prisoners and detainees will begin on Sunday in the Omani capital Muscat.
Majed Fadil, the spokesman for the government delegation, said that the delegation has clear instructions not to bypass political prisoner Mohammed Qahtan in any way and that no deal will be made without his presence.
Fadhil added that the government will negotiate the release of all prisoners and detainees in exchange for all. He expects the consultations to last 10 days to reach a deal to release the detainees.
The negotiations are being overseen by the office of the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, and the International Committee of the Red Cross as facilitators.
For his part, Abdul Qader al-Murtdha, head of the Houthi delegation in the negotiations, said that his group “hopes that the round will be successful and an agreement will be reached.”
Journalists released from Houthi prisons had sent a letter to the UN envoy denouncing the allowing of “al-Murtdha” to head the Houthi delegation, who participated in their torture in the group’s prisons during their years of detention.
