SANAA (BLOOMBERG) - Yemen's government said talks over the exchange of thousands of prisoners with Houthi rebels are still ongoing.

The rebels said on Sunday (March 27) they reached a deal with the government, which will see 1,400 Houthi prisoners swapped for 804 from government forces and allies.

Still, Hadi Haig, chief of the government prisoners committee, said there's no final agreement and the deal continues to be discussed.

Once there is final approval, the United Nations envoy to Yemen will be informed through an official letter, Haig said in a statement.

The rebels on Saturday announced a three-day halt to hostilities and offered to release coalition detainees in return for Houthi prisoners. The truce began at 6pm local time (11pm Singapore time) on Sunday, the rebel-controlled Saba news agency said.

In his earlier statement, Abdulqader Al-Murtadha, chief of the Houthi prisoners committee, said the deal will see 1,400 Houthi prisoners swapped for 804 from government forces and allies.

Former defence minister Mahmoud Al-Subaihi and Nasser Mansur Hadi, the brother of president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, are among the prisoners who will be exchanged. The deal will also involve 16 Saudi detainees and three Sudanese.