Yemeni gov't says ready to swap prisoners with Houthi

Yemeni government's chief negotiator said Tuesday his team was ready to start exchanging prisoners with the Houthi militia according to a swap deal between the warring sides in Yemen, reported Xinhua.

"We are pleased to announce the full readiness of the Yemeni government team to implement the Geneva-signed prisoner deal with the Houthis," Yahya Kazman, chief of the internationally-recognized Yemeni government's negotiation committee, said in a press release.

He noted that the agreement would be carried out at the time designated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a party named by the deal as responsible for transporting the 887 conflict-related detainees after their release.

The warring sides reached the deal on March 20 in Switzerland facilitated by UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg. The transport was then postponed from April 13 to April 14 at ICRC's request to finalize its arrangements, the Yemeni government has said.

On Saturday, Yemen's Houthi group confirmed that it had received 13 prisoners of war who had been released by Saudi Arabia in exchange for a previously freed Saudi prisoner.

This came amid intensified efforts to achieve peace in Yemen, especially following the resumption of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia adn Iran, in a deal brokered by China.

Over the weekend, Saudi and Omani delegations held talks with the Iran-backed Houthi group in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa aimed at restoring peace in the war-torn country, praised by the United Nations as "a welcome step towards the de-escalation of tensions."

Yemen has been embroiled in a protracted war after the Houthi militia took control of several northern cities and ousted the Saudi-backed Yemeni government from the capital.

The ongoing conflict has resulted in a staggering number of casualties and has pushed Yemen to the brink of a humanitarian crisis, including widespread famine.