Yemen's Houthi rebels release 117 prisoners ahead of Ramadan

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have released 117 prisoners ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the country’s SABA news agency reported.

The prisoners were released from jails in the cities of Al-Bayda and Rada'a following visits to them by local and judicial officials.

Prisoners were able to voice complaints to the public prosecutor, particularly those whose visit aimed at inspecting prison conditions ahead of Ramadan, according to SABA.

In separate developments on Saturday, representatives from Yemen's government and the Sanaa-based Houthis met in Geneva to kick off a series of talks on exchanging prisoners.

The new round of closed-door negotiations amid years of civil war were being overseen by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Set to last 11 days, the talks mark the seventh meeting aimed at implementing an agreement on prisoner exchanges reached in Stockholm five years ago, the UN said.

Under that deal, the sides agreed "to release all prisoners, detainees, missing persons, arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared persons, and those under house arrest", held in connection with Yemen's nearly decade-long conflict, "without any exceptions or conditions".

The latest meeting comes almost a year after the Houthis said they had agreed to a prisoner swap that would see 1,400 rebels freed in exchange for 823 pro-government fighters - including 16 Saudis and three Sudanese nationals.

Despite the announcement, no progress has been made on releasing those prisoners.