Yemen's Houthi group said it will free dozens of prisoners on Saturday, calling the move a "unilateral humanitarian initiative," Abdul Qader al-Murtada, head of the Houthi-run prisoner affairs committee,

Prisoner releases have been seen as a bid to jump-start talks to end Yemen's war, which began when Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

The Houthis have previously detained UN staffers, as well as individuals associated with the then US Embassy in Sanaa and aid groups.View on euronews

The United Nations said on Friday that the Houthis who control northern Yemen had detained seven U.N. personnel, and it was suspending all UN staff movement in Houthi-held areas while seeking the detainees' immediate release.

Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who are poised to return to the US terrorism blacklist, released more than 150 prisoners of war in tearful scenes on Saturday.

The move will authorize harsher penalties on the Iran-backed group, which has attacked Israel and disrupted global shipping trade in the Red Sea for over a year.

Yemen's Houthis released 153 prisoners on Saturday with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the ICRC said in a statement. The identities of the prisoners were not disclosed,

Yemen's Houthi rebel group said that its release of war prisoners on Sunday is a goodwill gesture aimed at advancing prisoner exchanges, which is one of the most complex issues in the Yemeni conflict,