Yemen: fighting rages near ancient city of Marib amid Houthi offensive thenationalnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thenationalnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Fighting has raged around the government-held city since February, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched a campaign to try to take the oil-rich region from the government.
Thousands of civilians living in camps for internally displaced people have already had to flee again as the fighting approached the city, Mr Omar said.
“Civilians in Marib have been suffering a lot,” he said. “They need life-saving aid and medical assistance.”
Mr Omar urged the parties in the conflict to make safe corridors to allow civilians to escape the fighting, and to protect vital infrastructure such as dams, power plants and the water network.