U.S. senior diplomat to visit Oman, Yemen

A senior American diplomat will visit Oman and Yemen to meet with key officials there later this week, the State Department said Monday, Xinhua reported.

Jeffrey Feltman, U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, on Wednesday will meet with Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said and Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf bin Alawi, the State Department said.

Feltman on Wednesday and Thursday will meet with senior Yemeni officials, including Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the State Department said.

Yemen has endured five months of violent protests demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between protestors and Saleh's supporters.

Saleh was wounded in a bomb attack that killed dozens of government officials and on June 4 was airlifted to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he has remained.