The body exchange deal is an indication of the improvement in relations between KSA and Houthis

#Saudi_Arabia and the #Houthis exchanged 64 fighter corpses in the third deal of its kind recently in #Yemen.

The Saudi ambassador in Sana'a

According to Houthi media, Saudi Arabia and Houthi officials exchanged 64 fighter bodies on Wednesday, the third such transaction in recent times, in the latest evidence of progress in talks to end the eight-year-old conflict, according to British news agency Reuters. The agreement is considered an indication of improved relations between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

After weeks of discussions in Saudi Arabia, the bodies were exchanged at the Saudi-Yemeni border. Six Saudi soldiers and allied fighters were accepted by the Saudi delegation, while 58 bodies were received by the Houthi party.

According to Yemeni and Saudi authorities, Saudi Arabia and the Houthis had already restarted back-channel negotiations, and Oman is also acting as a mediator in these talks. The visit of the Saudi envoy to Yemen in April to the Houthis was the clearest evidence that the two parties were engaged in peace discussions. However, southern Yemenis advocating for independence expressed anxiety over direct discussions between Riyadh and Sana'a, fearing that the southern problem will be ignored.

In another evidence of improved relations, Saudi Arabia said last week that it will allow Yemen Airways to fly passengers to Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj pilgrimage from Yemen's capital, Sanaa, for the first time since the conflict began in 2015. On Saturday, the first plane, carrying 273 pilgrims, took off from Sanaa for Jeddah.