SANAA: Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia in their latest reconciliation effort have exchanged 64 bodies of their fallen heroes, local media and tribal leaders said.
The rare exchange took place near the Saudi border town of Nahran, according to the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV and three tribal leaders. The TV reported that remains of 58 rebels were handed over by Riyadh, while Houthi handed over the bodies of six Saudi soldiers. There was no immediate comment from the kingdom on the exchange.
Yemen’s civil war erupted in 2014 when the Houthis swept down from their northern stronghold and removed the internationally recognized government from the capital of Sanaa, forcing it first to the south, then into exhile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year to try and restore the government to power. In time, the conflict turned into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The war has devastated Yemen. More than 150,000 people, including civilians, have been killed. In recent months, Saudi and Houthi officials have met for talks aimed at a settlement to the conflict.
