ADEN, Yemen, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi-backed Yemeni government and Houthi rebels on Thursday achieved a significant progress in the UN-sponsored peace talks by signing a ceasefire deal in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who took part in the closing day of the Yemeni peace talks in Sweden, declared a number of breakthroughs aimed at solving the years-long conflict in the impoverished Arab country.
The UN chief told a press conference in Sweden that Yemen's warring sides agreed to reach a province-wide ceasefire in Hodeidah, and withdraw troops from the port.
The Yemeni factions also agreed to open the humanitarian corridors to the besieged southwestern province of Taiz, conduct a 15,000-person prisoner swap, and hold fresh talks in January, the UN chief said.
The agreement included the deployment of neutral forces in Hodeidah following the withdrawal of the forces loyal to the warring factions.
Yemen's Foreign Minister Khaled Yamani, who led the government negotiating team, shook hands with Mohammed Abdul-Salam, head of the Houthis delegation, with the presence of Guterres.
Sources confirmed to Xinhua that withdrawal of the forces from Hodeidah will be conducted within the upcoming 14 days.
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths has engaged the two Yemeni warring parties in an intensive round of consultations outside Stockholm since Thursday, the first such talks in years.
The two parties have been discussing the details of re-opening the airport in Sanaa, deescalation measures in both Taiz and Hodeidah, and implementation of the agreement on exchanging prisoners, as well as the economic situation, Griffiths said.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since 2014 when the Houthi rebels overtook the capital Sanaa and toppled the government of President Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Houthis since 2015.
The war has killed more than 10,000 people and created the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
The latest peace talks tackled a wide range of substantive issues, with the aim of putting Yemen back on the path of peace, and alleviating the suffering of the Yemeni people.
