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3. Yemen Warring Parties to Exchange Bodies as Part of Major Prisoner Swap

Yemen's Houthi rebels and its internationally recognised government said they agreed on Wednesday to recover and exchange bodies as part of a major prisoner swap, sparking hope for families of those missing in the war.

A day earlier, the warring sides had agreed to a prisoner swap of nearly 3,000 people -- the largest such exchange in 11 years of war should it succeed.

Officials gave few details about the next steps, with observers pressing both sides to follow through to bolster efforts for peace.

"An agreement for the recovery and handover of bodies from all fronts and all areas was signed today by all parties under the auspices and supervision of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross," Abdulqader al-Mortada, a negotiator with the Houthi delegation, said in a statement on X.

He said the move would "hopefully help reveal the fate of thousands of missing persons from both sides".

Government negotiator Majed Fadail told AFP the deal to recover bodies was "an annex" of the prisoner swap agreement, confirming it had been signed on Wednesday morning.

The Iran-backed Houthis have been at war with the government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered a major humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

The fighting, however, has decreased significantly since a UN-negotiated truce in 2022.

Tuesday's breakthrough deal came after nearly a fortnight of discussions between officials from both sides in Muscat, the capital of neighbouring Oman, a key mediator in the long-running conflict.

Talks to bring the conflict to a formal end have yet to result in a deal.

A reconciliation deal between the warring parties' main foreign patrons, Riyadh and Tehran, in early 2023 saw nearly 900 prisoners released in April that year.

AFP