Omani delegation arrives ahead of talks with rebel leaders

An Omani delegation arrived in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Saturday for talks with Houthi rebel leaders.

The discussion aim to advance the peace process, chief Houthi negotiator Mohammed Abdul-Salam said.

Another Houthi official said the delegation arrived on an Omani military plane and would try to convince Houthi leaders to halt their offensive on Marib and return to the negotiating table in Oman's capital of Muscat.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The visit comes after Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke over the phone on Friday with Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud al-Busaidi.

Blinken reiterated the need for "an immediate, comprehensive ceasefire to help bring the war in Yemen and the humanitarian suffering of the Yemeni people to an end," according to the State Department.

The U.S. special envoy for Yemen has lashed out at the Houthi rebels, accusing them of failing to try to reach an urgently needed cease-fire in the war-wrecked nation.

Tim Lenderking said the Iranian-backed Houthis bear the major responsibility for refusing to engage meaningfully on a cease-fire and to take steps to "resolve a nearly seven-years conflict that has brought unimaginable suffering to the Yemeni people.”

Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014, when the Iranian-backed Houthis swept across much of the north and seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile.

A Saudi-led coalition entered the war the following year on the side of the government. The war has killed more than 130,000 people and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.