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Yemeni parties agree to exchange dead bodies - UN official

AMMAN, Feb 8 (KUNA) -- Yemen's Sub-Committee on Dead Bodies and Human Remains agreed on Friday a joint plan of action based on specific principles and a timeline to complete the exchange of bodies.
The sub-committee is an affiliate of the Supervisory Committee on the Implementation of the Prisoner Exchange Agreement, comprised of representatives of the Government of Yemen and Ansar Allah, and co-chaired by the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary General for Yemen (OSESGY) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
"Representatives of the two Yemeni parties agreed to exchange 1,000 bodies from each side," said Hanan El-Badawi, chief of public information dept. of the OSESGY, in statements to KUNA.
"They have finalized lists of the dead bodies and will continue working on other lists," she revealed.
Today's agreement is the fruit of the second meeting of the Supervisory Committee, held here on February 5-8; the first meeting was held in mid-January, El-Badawi added.
The two parties renewed commitment to the release of all prisoners and detainees, missing persons, arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared persons, and those under house arrest, based on a phased implementation.
They reaffirmed their readiness to do their utmost to achieve this shared objective, recognizing the urgent need to reunite detainees with their families, according to an earlier press release by the OSESGY.
The Committee has made important progress in moving the release process forward, including by providing additional information on the status of individuals included in the lists of prisoners. The Committee's current session will remain open to provide the parties an opportunity to continue working together to enhance the level and quality of information, to enable the expected finalization of the lists in the near future.
OSESGY and ICRC will continue to support the parties' efforts in implementing the agreement, including by providing technical assistance, the statement added.
The Prisoner Exchange Agreement, brokered by Martin Griffiths, the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Yemen, was reached in Sweden in last December. (end) ab.gb