Aden (Yemen), Dec 25 (NationPress) - An agreement has been reached between Yemen's internationally recognized government and the Houthi faction to recover and exchange thousands of bodies from both sides involved in the conflict, as confirmed by officials from both factions.

According to Abdul Qader al-Murtada, who leads the Houthis' prisoner affairs committee, he announced on the social media platform X that this arrangement encompasses bodies from all battlefronts and regions within Yemen, with plans to establish joint field committees for its execution.

Hadi Haig, who heads the Yemeni government's prisoner exchange committee, corroborated this agreement, as reported by Xinhua news agency.

This initiative follows a separate arrangement made on Tuesday that includes the release of 1,700 Houthi detainees in exchange for 1,200 detainees affiliated with the government, along with seven Saudi nationals and 23 Sudanese nationals held by the Houthis.

The detainee swap emerged after a 12-day meeting conducted in the Sultanate of Oman, with Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy for Yemen, commending the deal as "a significant and hopeful step that may alleviate the distress of detainees and their families throughout Yemen."

The conflict in Yemen has persisted since late 2014 when the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, which led to a Saudi-led coalition's intervention the following year in support of the internationally recognized government.

A UN-mediated truce between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group, brokered in April 2022, was effective for six months before it expired. However, both parties have largely maintained a "de facto ceasefire" since.

The most recent significant UN-mediated detainee exchange occurred in 2023, resulting in approximately 900 detainees being released.

Meanwhile, Yemen's presidency on Sunday firmly denounced remarks made by ministers and government officials based in the southern port city of Aden that expressed support for the pro-secession Southern Transitional Council (STC).

According to a source within the presidency, as reported by the state-run Saba news agency, Rashad Al-Alimi, the head of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), reviewed recent statements by ministers and other officials that "exceeded their functional responsibilities" and conflicted with the constitution and the established references governing the transitional period.

The source cautioned that utilizing official positions to promote political agendas outside the constitutional framework is a serious breach of law.