YEMEN’S warring parties agreed to an exchange of 2,900 prisoners of war yesterday.

The Houthis, who have dominated Yemen since 2014, and the government in exile in Saudi Arabia signed the deal under supervision of the UN special envoy for Yemen and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Those detained include Saudi and Sudanese nationals as well as Yemenis. Saudi Arabia led a coalition attempting to dislodge the Houthis and restore the previous government from 2015, killing tens of thousands in indiscriminate bombing raids before a truce was brokered by China between it and the Houthis’ ally Iran last year. The Saudi-allied Sudanese army also provided troops for the long-running but militarily unsuccessful campaign.

It is the largest prisoner swap agreed since the start of the war, and indicates Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping tied to Israel, which it conducts in solidarity with the Palestinians, have not interrupted its rapprochement with Riyadh.