RIYADH — The Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen on Tuesday released 200 prisoners, as efforts pick up pace to end the conflict in the impoverished country. In cooperation with the World Health Organization, there will be flights to transport patients from the capital Sanaa to countries where they can receive appropriate treatment for their cases, said Col. Turki Al-Maliki, the spokesman for the coalition forces. Sanaa airport has been closed to commercial flights since 2016. The coalition leadership is keen to continue supporting efforts to resolve the crisis in Yemen and push forward the Stockholm Agreement, including the agreement on prisoner exchange, and to create the atmosphere to overcome any points of disagreement, said Al-Maliki. The Stockholm Agreement called for the withdrawal of troops on both sides from the major port city of Hodeidah in order to admit humanitarian aid to Yemenis afflicted by famine due to four years of civil war. Al-Maliki says the exchange of prisoners is a humanitarian issue in the first place and a continuation of the coalition's efforts to improve the humanitarian situation, especially the health of the Yemeni people, including provisions of the relevant international laws and agreements.
