AFP, RIYADH: Rebels who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa have released nine Saudis in exchange for 109 Yemenis, the Riyadh-led coalition fighting them said Monday, in the latest sign of tensions easing before peace talks.
“Nine Saudi prisoners have been recovered and 109 Yemenis who were arrested in the military operations zone” near the border have been handed over, the coalition said in a statement.
It did not specify whether the prisoners were combatants or civilians.
The swap follows another exchange of one Saudi soldier for seven Yemenis earlier this month amid tribal mediation that has helped reduce violence along the Saudi-Yemeni border. Efforts have been building to bring an end to the devastating conflict in Yemen, a year after the Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes against the Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels.
UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed announced last week that the combatants have agreed to a cessation of hostilities from midnight on April 10, followed by talks in Kuwait on April 18.