Sanaa, Dec 22 (IANS): The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that it had visited this year more than 3,400 Yemeni war prisoners detained in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

"Earlier December, the ICRC concluded a 10-day visit to the Khamis Mushait detention facility in Saudi Arabia where conflict-related detainees are held under the authority of the Joint Forces in Saudi Arabia. A similar visit was conducted in (Yemen's capital) Sanaa in October," the ICRC said in a statement.

The ICRC urged the conflicting sides to ensure all detainees are held in humane conditions.

The Committee said its visits can "assess the living conditions of the detainees and exchange the family news between them and their relatives".

"We await the close of political negotiations toward the release, transfer and repatriation of all conflict-related detainees so they can be reunited with their families after years of separation," Fabrizio Carboni, the regional director for the Near and Middle East for the ICRC, was quoted by the statement as saying.

Since 2019, the ICRC has facilitated the release of more than 1,500 prisoners by the parties to the conflict in Yemen, according to the statement.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia stormed several northern cities and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the following year to support the Yemeni government.

The war has killed tens of thousands and caused what the United Nations calls the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.