Tribal leaders prisoner exchange overshadows Yemen peace talks

Prisoners from both sides of Yemen's conflicting parties were exchanged on Saturday following mediation by local tribes, as peace talks remain stagnant in Kuwait.

Dozens that were captured while fighting in the battle for Yemen's third largest Taiz city were released as part of a local initiative – detached to UN-brokered peace talks between warring factions in Kuwait that have seen little progress since beginning nearly two months ago.

Yemeni government forces exchanged 118 prisoners with Houthi rebels who released 76, tribal chief Abdullatif al-Muradi said.

Earlier this month 187 other prisoners were freed by the rebels in exchange for 52 child soldiers detained by Saudi Arabia.

Kuwait-based peace talks have yet to establish any real progress almost two months into negotiations, as Yemen's parties continue to bear grudges.

The factions have yet to achieve any major breakthrough and a deal has not been reached, said Yemen's foreign minister and the head of the government delegation, Abdulmalek al-Mikhlafi, who added the opposing teams "have been revolving in a vacuum".

Meanwhile conflict between the warring factions continued on the ground just hours before the exchange with Houthi rocket fire hitting several locations in the city, residents said.

Heavy fighting was also reported in the town of Kirsh on the main highway linking Taiz with the southern port city of Aden, where the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi is currently based.

More than 6,400 people have been killed since a Saudi-led Arab coalition launched a bombing campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.