The prisoner swap is the latest confidence-building measure in the lead-up to a planned ceasefire and peace negotiations.

Yemen’s Houthi militias, who control the capital Sanaa, have released nine Saudis in exchange for 109 Yemenis, the Saudi-led coalition said on Monday.

The move comes ahead of planned peace talks next month.

“Nine Saudi prisoners have been recovered and 109 Yemenis who were arrested in the military operations zone” near the border have been handed over, the coalition said in a statement.

The prisoner swap is the latest confidence-building measure in the lead-up to a planned ceasefire and peace negotiations next month.

Last week, UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed announced that the combatants have agreed to a ceasefire from midnight on April 10, to be followed by peace talks in Kuwait on April 18.

Previous negotiations have failed and several ceasefires were never respected in the year since the Arab-led coalition began air strikes in support of President Abedrabbu Mansour Hadi.

But a more conducive atmosphere prevails ahead of the new round of planned talks.

A mediation effort by tribal leaders earlier this month led to the exchange of one Saudi soldier for seven Yemenis detained by Saudi authorities at the border.

According to the United Nations, about 6,300 people have been killed in the conflict, more than half of them civilians.

Related articles across the web

• YEMEN: UN announces ceasefire for April 10: and sets date for #Peace talks in Kuwait as April 18: - AFP - @AceNewsServices
• Yemen ceasefire to start on April 10: UN envoy
• Yemen peace talks could resume in Kuwait this month
• UN: Yemen's warring parties agree to April 10 ceasefire
• A year into intervention, Saudi sees few gains in Yemen
• Yemen: Saudi Arabia and Houthis agree to ceasefire
• UN envoy announces cease-fire in Yemen
• US Rejects Emergency Meeting with Russia on Syria Ceasefire Violations
• Ceasefire regime in Syria generally observed - Russian ceasefire center
• US Rejects Emergency Meeting with Russia on Syria Ceasefire Violations