Yemen war parties swap bodies in latest sign of talks progress

SMA NEWS – AMMAN
Saudi Arabia and the Houthi authorities controlling north Yemen have exchanged 64 fighters’ bodies in the third such recent deal, Houthi media said on Wednesday, the latest sign of progress in talks to end their eight-year conflict.

The bodies were exchanged at the Saudi-Yemeni border where delegations from both sides met after weeks of negotiations in Saudi Arabia, footage and commentary from Houti-run Al Masirah TV on Wednesday showed.

It was not clear exactly when the exchanges took place.

A Saudi-led military coalition in 2015 intervened against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement that ousted Yemen’s internationally recognised government from Sanaa in 2014.

The war has destroyed Yemen’s economy, plunged millions into hunger and killed tens of thousands, but talks to end it have picked up since Riyadh and Iran in March restored diplomatic ties.

The Saudi delegation received six of its soldiers and allied fighters, and the Houthi group received 58 bodies.

There was no mention of the body exchange in Saudi media and the Saudi government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.