Yemen govt, Houthi rebels agree large prisoner exchange

The warring sides in Yemen's long conflict have agreed to exchange as many as 1,081 prisoners.

The development came following talks in at the Swiss village of Glion, overlooking Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the United Nations mediator said on Sunday.

Yemen's government, which is supported by a Saudi-led military coalition, and Iran-backed Huthi rebels had resolved to swap some 15,000 detainees as part of a peace deal brokered by the UN in Stockholm back in 2018.

The two sides have since undertaken sporadic prisoner exchanges, but the release of over 1,000 loyalists and insurgents would mark the first large-scale handover since the war erupted in 2014.

UN envoy Martin Griffiths hailed the decision to release the prisoners as the largest such operation during Yemen's conflict. He also congratulated the government and the Huthis for renewing their "commitment to the full implementation of the Stockholm agreement".

The Huthi-run Al-Masirah TV channel quoted a rebel source as confirming a deal had been reached and that both parties "express their commitment to implement the agreement".

Yemen's Foreign Minister Mohammad al-Hadhrami welcomed the deal as a "humanitarian" breakthrough, but also said in a tweet that "the government demands the agreement is implemented without stalling".

The agreement includes the release of "681 rebels and 400 government forces (and allies), among them 15 Saudis and four Sudanese", a member of the government delegation told AFP.

The talks began on September 18, and had been aimed at securing the release of 1,420 prisoners, including the brother of Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in the Yemen conflict, which has sparked what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.