A Yemeni military source said that Major General Amin al-Waeli, commander of the army's sixth military region, was killed on Friday while leading the battles against the Houthis, northwest of Marib.
He added that Al-Waeli had previously escaped certain death several times, one of which was in the Houthi missile strikes on a government building in Al-Jawf governorate in 2017.
Major General Al-Waeli was appointed commander of the Sixth Military Region in 2018.
Violent battles are taking place between the army loyal to the legitimate government and the Houthis in the Marib region, which the Houthi group seeks to control.
The Taiz region also witnessed fierce battles between the two parties during the past two days.
An American envoy
The US State Department announced that its envoy to Yemen, Timothy Lenderking, is currently in Muscat, and is coordinating with the UN envoy, Martin Griffiths, to reach a permanent ceasefire agreement in Yemen.
For his part, Griffiths said that he held a meeting on Friday in Muscat with the spokesman for the Houthi group, Muhammad Abdul Salam.
The two parties discussed the urgent need to agree to open Sanaa airport, ease restrictions on Hudaydah ports, declare a comprehensive ceasefire, in addition to resuming dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations with the aim of reaching a sustainable peace agreement.
Resume dialogue
For his part, Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said that Griffiths will continue mediation efforts, noting that he discussed with the chief Houthi negotiator in Muscat several issues, most notably the ceasefire and the resumption of political dialogue.
The diplomatic movement coincides with the Houthi escalation of attacks on Saudi Arabia, as the group’s military spokesman announced on Friday the launch of 18 drone bombs that targeted the facilities of the Saudi oil company, "Aramco" in Ras Tanura, Fourth, Yanbu, and Jizan, as well as the King Abdulaziz military base in Dammam and military sites in Najran and Asir.
The leader of the group, Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi, delivered a speech yesterday, in which he said that the path to peace is "clear" and requires an end to the aggression, an end to the siege, and an end to what he called the occupation of the Yemeni governorates, as he put it.
Al-Houthi confirmed his rejection of what he said were attempts by Saudi Arabia, the United States and some European countries to persuade his group to barter the humanitarian file for military and political agreements.