Yemen foes in new talks on troubled prisoner swap deal

Yemen's Saudi-backed government began a new round of UN-brokered talks with Shiite Huthi rebels in Jordan on Tuesday on a troubled prisoner swap deal that mediators say hangs in the balance.

The huge prisoner exchange agreed in Stockholm in December is seen as a crucial confidence-building measure in the UN-led push to bring the warring sides to negotiations on ending four years of devastating conflict.

Both sides have said repeatedly they remain committed to the agreement that could see thousands of prisoners released by each side.

During two days of talks in the Jordanian capital last month, they submitted lists of the detainees they each want to see freed, but deep distrust prevented them coming up with a final list of names for the exchange.

At the end of January, the rebels released a captured Saudi soldier while Riyadh set free seven Huthi prisoners but they are the only detainees exchanged under the deal so far.

UN envoy Martin Griffiths said he hoped the two sides would be more successful this time as he opened three days of talks in Amman.

"The aim of this event is to finalise... the lists of prisoners and detainees to be released and exchanged," he said.

"Success in this regard is not only of huge importance for those who will be released and return to their families but also to the broader political process in which we are engaged."
"There is a lot of disappointment on both sides", he said. "What we now see on both sides (is that) they don't have them all because a lot of them, they probably died during the conflict."