Yemen’s warring sides said to OK prisoner swap

RIMBO, Sweden — Both sides in Yemen’s civil war agreed Tuesday to exchange more than 15,000 prisoners by Jan. 20, a member of the rebel delegation said, in what could be the first major breakthrough in the 4-year-old conflict that has killed thousands of people.

Delegations from the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Iran-backed Shiite rebels said at news conferences in Sweden that they have exchanged prisoner lists.

The move is a crucial step in implementing an agreement reached earlier this month on the exchange of all prisoners.

The government said it has provided U.N. mediators with an initial list of 8,200 prisoners allegedly held by the rebels, known as Houthis. The rebel delegation said it provided a list of 7,400 prisoners held by the government.