AL-MUKALLA: US national security adviser Jake Sullivan was en route to Saudi Arabia on Monday for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid growing pressure for a ceasefire in Yemen.
The top Biden aide will be joined by Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for Yemen, and Saudi Deputy Defense Minster Prince Khalid bin Salman is also expected to take part in the talks. Sullivan will also visit the UAE.
The talks come among mounting casualties among Iran-backed Houthi militia fighters in their offensive against the strategic city of Marib.
The city, about 120km east of the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, sits at a crossroads between the southern and northern regions and is key to controlling Yemen’s north.
“Fifty-eight Houthi insurgents and nine loyalists were killed in fighting and airstrikes in the provinces of Marib and Shabwa in the past 24 hours,” military sources said on Monday.
