Anadolu Agency quoted a diplomatic source as saying that the UN envoys to Yemen, Martin Griffiths and the American Timothy Lenderking, arrived in Riyadh to discuss the Yemeni crisis, after talks they held in Muscat, amid the continuing battles in Marib and Taiz, Yemen.

The Yemeni diplomatic source stated that the envoys would hold meetings with Yemeni and Saudi officials about the Yemen crisis, following the conclusion of a visit to the Sultanate of Oman that began Friday.

The Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Farhan Haq, said that the UN envoy Griffiths discussed in Muscat a number of issues with the spokesman for the Houthi group.

Most notably, the ceasefire, the opening of Sanaa airport and the resumption of political dialogue.

He added that these talks came in coordination with the US envoy to Yemen, Timothy Lenderking.

For his part, Griffiths said that he held talks with the Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi in Muscat, describing them as constructive.

The UN envoy praised Oman's support for the United Nations efforts aimed at establishing sustainable peace in Yemen through an inclusive political process.

The Omani Foreign Ministry said that during the meeting, developments in the situation in Yemen and the efforts made to stop the war and revive the political process through negotiations between all parties were discussed, in order to achieve security and stability in Yemen and the region.

The envoys' visit to Muscat and Riyadh comes within the international and international moves aimed at stopping the war in Yemen, which has entered its seventh year, amid a continuous military escalation.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia announced the launch of an initiative to solve the Yemeni crisis, including a ceasefire, reopening Sanaa airport, permitting the import of fuel and foodstuffs through the port of Hodeidah (west), and the resumption of political negotiations between the government and the Houthis.

In response to the initiative, the Houthi spokesman, Muhammad Abdul Salam, tweeted, through his Twitter account, saying that any positions or initiatives that do not notice that Yemen has been subjected to aggression and blockade for 6 years are neither serious nor new in them, without declaring an explicit position towards the Kingdom's initiative.

Battles rage

On the ground, the Yemeni army’s media center in the Taiz axis said that at least 12 Houthi militants were killed during clashes in the “Maqabana” district, west of Taiz governorate.

A military source said that an army soldier was killed and 3 wounded, during the confrontations in the mountains of “Al-Oudin,” “Al-Tawer,” and “Al-Matahen,” and in the Al-Ahkum front, in Haifan district, southeast of Taiz.

In Marib, military sources said that clashes erupted between the army and the Houthis on the Al-Kasara and Al-Mashjah fronts in the Sirwah district.

It explained that the Saudi-Emirati coalition aircraft targeted Houthi sites and vehicles.

In Al-Jawf governorate, in northeastern Yemen, the army said that it had gained control of new sites in the Burat al-Anan district, in the north of the governorate.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the Yemeni army mourned Major General Amin Al-Waeli, commander of the Sixth Military Region.

A statement by the Ministry and the Commission said that al-Waili was killed while performing his national duty on the battlefronts between the governorates of Al-Jawf and Marib against the Houthis, and that he had also set the core of re-establishing the Sixth Military Region and forming its units and leaders.