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Saudi-led coalition swaps 9 Saudi prisoners with 109 Yemenis

Xinhua, March 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

Nine Saudi prisoners have been released by Yemen's Houthi rebels in exchange for 109 Yemenis who were arrested near Saudi-Yemeni borders, a Saudi-led coalition announced on Monday.

The swap was part of the state of "calm" that was announced early March, the Saudi Press Agency quoted a statement of the coalition as saying.

This was the second prisoner swap this month. In early March, a Saudi soldier was exchanged for seven Yemenis.

The Saudi-led coalition has been battling Houthi rebels in Yemen for a year, with ground operations and almost daily air raids, to restore the internationally recognized president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Relative calm has been achieved recently thanks to international and local mediation efforts by parties such as the United Nations and tribal leaders, facilitating the improved flow of medical and other humanitarian aid to some Yemeni localities.

The warring parties have agreed to cease hostilities on April 10 in preparation for peace talks scheduled to start on April 18 in Kuwait.

Yemen has been mired in an all-out civil war since September 2014, when the Shiite Houthi group, backed by forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, invaded Sanaa and drove President Hadi into exile. The war has killed nearly 6,000 people. Endit