The Saudi-led military coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis announced Thursday it would free 163 Houthi prisoners, a gesture it said was part of efforts to end the brutal seven-year war.

The move came after a Houthi official called this week for both sides to release 200 prisoners before the coming Eid al-Fitr celebrations, marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and several weeks into a fragile truce that has raised hopes of a lasting ceasefire.

"The leadership of the joint forces of the coalition will release 163 Houthi prisoners who participated in the hostilities against the kingdom's lands, as a humanitarian initiative," coalition spokesman Turki Al-Malki said in a statement carried by Saudi state media.

Coalition leaders were finalising steps to release the prisoners in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the prisoners will be transferred to Yemen's Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, he said.

The conflict, pitting Yemen's Saudi-backed government against the Houthis, has killed hundreds of thousands of people, and pushed the country to the brink of famine.

It has also featured Houthi strikes on neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

But a renewable two-month truce that went into effect in early April has provided a rare respite from violence in much of the country, and has also seen oil tankers begin arriving at the port of Hodeida, potentially easing fuel shortages in Sanaa and elsewhere.

-AFP