SANAA, Yemen

A top Yemeni commander was killed Monday in clashes between government forces and Houthi rebels in the central Marib province, according to a local military source.

Major-General Naser al-Thaybani, chief of operations command in the Yemeni Defense Ministry, lost his life in the violence, the source told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

He said a number of government soldiers and rebel fighters were also killed in the clashes.

The Yemeni government has yet to confirm the report.

Since February, Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have stepped up attacks to take control of the oil-rich Marib province, one of the most important strongholds of the legitimate government and home to the headquarters of Yemen’s Defense Ministry.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises, with nearly 80% or about 30 million needing humanitarian assistance and protection, and more than 13 million in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates.

A recent United Nations report projected that by the year’s end, the death toll from the seven-year Yemeni conflict will reach 377,000.