SANAA - A Houthi delegation departed the Yemeni capital Sanaa to Oman on Saturday to attend a new round of UN-sponsored negotiations with the Yemeni government side over a prisoner exchange, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.

On Thursday, the Yemeni state television, Al-Yemen, said the government side would head for Oman for the talks. The talks are expected to last a week in the Omani capital Muscat.

In April 2023, nearly 900 prisoners from both sides were released following UN-sponsored negotiations between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group, marking the second-largest prisoner exchange between the warring sides since the civil war broke out in 2014.

With thousands still held in the prisons on both sides, local observers are hoping that the upcoming talks in Muscat could lead to a significant breakthrough.

The United Nations is trying to release all detainees and reach a political settlement between the Yemeni sides to end the long-running war.

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Yemen has been mired in the civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi group seized control of several northern provinces and forced the government out of Sanaa.