The Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels exchanged 10 prisoners through a tribal mediation in the country's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Wednesday, a local government official said.

"A total of five soldiers and five rebels were set free," the official told Sources by phone on condition of anonymity.

The swap took place on the Western Coast frontline on the southern edge of the rebel-held Hodeidah city, said the official.

It was the second exchange of prisoners between the two Yemeni rival forces during this week. On Monday, the two sides released 20 prisoners in the northeastern province of Jawf.

Previous local mediation had succeeded in achieving several swap deals between the two sides.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 after the Houthi rebels overran the capital Sanaa and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.