Forces loyal to Yemen's government and the Houthi rebels conducted a prisoner exchange in the country's southern province of Dhalea on Wednesday, a government official said.

According to the local government source who asked to remain anonymous, the pro-government forces released about 15 members of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group from their jails.

The Houthi rebel group, meanwhile, set free a total of 15 pro-government southern soldiers in return, the source said.

Key tribal leaders conducted a meditation and succeeded in completing the prisoners swap between the two warring rivals, according to the official.

Yemen's local tribal mediators have more than once succeeded in completing prisoner exchanges between government forces and the Houthis in different areas of the war-torn Arab country.

Yemen has been locked into a civil war since late 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa.

Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition against the Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen for more than five years in support of the internationally recognized government of Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.