In Yemen, on Friday, the process of exchanging hundreds of prisoners between the two sides of the conflict, including Saudi prisoners, began, in a glimmer of hope that gives impetus to diplomatic efforts aimed at putting the bloody conflict on the path to a solution.

"The first plane took off from Sanaa," carrying prisoners from the internationally recognized Yemeni government forces, towards Aden (south), media advisor to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jessica Musan, told AFP.

The government has taken Aden as its temporary headquarters since the Houthi rebels took control of the capital, Sana'a, in 2014.

Another plane of the International Committee of the Red Cross will take off from Sanaa on Friday, and two other planes from Aden (south). The four planes will transport about 320 prisoners.

The Yemeni government said that 72 of its prisoners would be released on Friday, including former Defense Minister Major General Mahmoud al-Subaihi and Major General Nasser Mansour Hadi, brother of former Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi. They will arrive in Aden from Sana'a. A Houthi official stated that the exchange will include 250 prisoners of the "Ansar Allah movement", who will arrive in Sana'a, coming from Aden.

During negotiations held in Berne last month, the Houthis and the government reached an agreement to exchange more than 880 prisoners. Under the agreement, the Houthis will release 181 prisoners, including Saudis and Sudanese, in exchange for 706 detainees held by government forces.

The Yemeni conflict began in 2014, and the Houthis, backed by Tehran, took control of several regions of the country. The following year, Saudi Arabia, at the head of a military coalition, intervened in the war in support of the government, exacerbating a conflict that left hundreds of thousands dead and caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

The prisoner exchange process will take place over three days, and includes Sana’a and Mocha (west), Marib (central north), Aden in Yemen, and Riyadh and Abha (south) in Saudi Arabia.

In the last major exchange that took place in October 2020, "more than 1,050 prisoners were released and returned to their regions or countries," according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.