SANAA, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni government and Houthi militia on Thursday began a long-awaited large swap of prisoners in accordance with a UN-brokered deal reached in Switzerland two weeks ago.
The deal included the release of over 1,000 conflict-related prisoners, including 681 Houthis and 400 soldiers from the government forces and their allied Saudi-led coalition, which included 15 Saudis and four Sudanese.
The freed would be transported on Thursday and Friday.
The first batch of the freed was transported earlier the day between the Houthi-held capital Sanaa and the government-held southeastern city of Sieyun, according to officials from both Yemeni warring parties.
Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported the arrival of three planes carrying the released members arrived at Sanaa airport.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) organized the transport process of the freed prisoners through flights between both Yemeni cities.
Dozens of families crowded at both airports to receive their long-awaited beloved ones.
The two warring parties had held some 15,000 detainees.
The swap was the first major breakthrough in peace efforts led by the United Nations.
UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths welcomed the "start of prisoners swap," hoping this move would lead to the release of all conflict-related prisoners.
Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen conflict in March 2015 t support Hadi's government.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the country to the brink of famine. Enditem