Saudis free Houthis as Omani mediators in Yemen try to broker new truce

Saudi Arabia has released over a dozen war prisoners to their rivals, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, a Houthi official said.

The release on Saturday came as Omani officials arrived in the Yemeni capital as part of efforts to end Yemen's years-long conflict.

Abdul Qader al Mortada, a Houthi official in charge of prisoner exchange talks in Yemen's conflict, said 13 Houthi prisoners arrived on Saturday in the capital, Sanaa.

He said the prisoners were released in exchange for a Saudi prisoner the Houthis freed. He did not say when the rebels released the Saudi prisoner.

Saturday's release was part of a UN-brokered deal which Yemen's warring parties stuck last month and includes the release of nearly 900 prisoners from both sides, al Mortada said.

"The detainees released today from Saudi prisons are part of the deal agreed via the United Nations, and next Thursday ... the deal will be fully implemented," said al Mortada.

The UN-brokered deal is scheduled to be implemented this month.

The UN special envoy to Yemen has said the deal is one of several developments reflecting movement towards ending the eight-year conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and caused a humanitarian crisis.

Yemen's conflict began in 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of the country's north, ousting the internationally recognised government that fled to the south then into exile in Saudi Arabia.

The Houthi move prompted a Saudi-led coalition to intervene months later in a bid to restore the internationally recognised government to power.

The conflict has in recent years turned into a regional proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, who recently agreed to reestablish ties and diplomatic relations.

It has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.

READ MORE: Saudi delegation to visit Sanaa for ceasefire talks with Yemen's Houthis

Oman's diplomatic push

Omani officials, meanwhile, landed in Sanaa for talks with Houthi officials in the latest efforts to renew a ceasefire deal that expired in October, said Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the chief negotiator of the Houthi rebels.

Oman has for years hosted talks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.

The talks have been intensified since the warring sides failed to renew a UN-brokered cease-fire in October.

The negotiations in Oman's capital, Muscat focused on preventing all-out fighting after the ceasefire collapsed, and laying out a path for a negotiated end to Yemen's civil war.

These talks have gained momentum in recent weeks after Saudi Arabia reached an agreement with Iran to restore their diplomatic ties after a seven-year rift.

The Iran-Saudi deal, announced in Beijing on March 10, has invigorated hopes of a settlement to Yemen's conflict.

READ MORE: Saudi coalition lifts more curbs on Yemeni imports as peace talks continue