Sanaa - (AFP) - A Saudi delegation visited the Yemeni capital, which is under the control of the Houthis, for talks on a prisoner exchange between the two sides involved in a fierce war for years, while a rebel delegation visited the kingdom for the same purpose, the two sides announced Thursday.

The mutual visit has been rare since the beginning of the conflict in Yemen, where the government, backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, has been fighting a war against the Iran-backed Houthis, who have controlled the capital and vast areas of the country since 2014.

The parties to the conflict often conduct prisoner exchanges, some of which included Saudi soldiers.

The head of the Houthi-affiliated National Committee for Prisoners' Affairs, Abdul Qadir Al-Murtada, said in a statement, "We received a Saudi technical delegation, and the aim of their visit is to see the conditions of their prisoners affiliated with them, who are with us, and also to match the names in reality, verify them and pave the way for an exchange process (.. .) In the near future".

"Yesterday, we bid farewell to a technical team from the National Committee for Prisoners' Affairs, which visited Saudi prisons to see the conditions of our prisoners who are with them, as well as to compare the names and match them with the reality inside the prisons, and to see the conditions of the prisoners and check on them," he added, according to the rebel news agency, Saba. .

For his part, the official spokesman for the coalition forces, Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki, said that "two delegations from the coalition and the Houthis exchanged visits to prisoners of both sides as a goodwill initiative, and as part of confidence-building efforts to extend the armistice in Yemen."

The armistice ended on the second of October, six months after it began, after the parties to the conflict failed to reach an agreement to extend it.

Al-Maliki added, as quoted by the government news agency "SPA", that this visit, "of a humanitarian nature, deals with the file of prisoners as a purely humanitarian situation, and it also comes as one of the gains of the armistice and the endeavor to extend it and expand its gains on the lives of Yemenis in terms of humanitarian, economic and living conditions, to start the political process, and reach peace." comprehensive in Yemen.

Footage from a video recording distributed by the Houthis showed the Saudi delegation exiting a United Nations plane at Sana'a airport and shaking hands with Houthi officials, then they went together to a number of prisons and met prisoners.

It is not known the number of Saudi prisoners in Sana'a.

The war caused the death of more than 377 thousand people, directly or indirectly, according to a United Nations report at the end of last year, meaning that they died either in bombing and fighting, or as a result of indirect repercussions such as hunger, disease, and lack of drinking water.

The country is now facing the risk of an escalation of violence after the collapse of the truce.

On Thursday, the United Nations envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, told the Security Council that "while I work with the parties to find solutions, I urge them to show the necessary leadership and flexibility to reach an agreement to extend and expand the truce."

In his video address to the UN Security Council, the Swedish diplomat welcomed, "The restraint shown by the two sides since the end of the armistice on October 2, fortunately, we have not witnessed any major military escalation."