The United States strongly condemned on Friday the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ terrorist attack on Thursday against a military parade in the southern Yemeni province of Lahj.
"This attack contravenes the spirit of the Hodeida ceasefire and the progress made last month at the UN-led talks in Sweden," State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement.
"We urge all sides to honor the commitments they made in Sweden to their fellow Yemenis by refraining from violence and provocative acts," he said.
UN envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths said separately that he was "alarmed" by the drone attack, which came as he was hoping for further progress in negotiating an end to the war.
In tweets, he urged "all parties to the conflict to exercise restraint and refrain from further escalation" and to "create a conducive environment to maintain the positive momentum generated" in Sweden.
The United Arab Emirates called on the international community to pressure the Houthis and blamed them for the slow progress of peace efforts.
The "murderous drone attack tells you everything you need about the Houthis. Peace negotiations are a tactic to them, not a commitment," UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted.
Spokesman for Yemeni armed forces Abdullah Majali said that the Houthis’ ongoing violations will “only further motivate the Yemeni people and military to uproot the terrorist militias that do not believe in peace or International Humanitarian Law.”
The Houthis are a “danger to the security of Yemen, the region and the world,” he declared to the September.net website.
A bomb-laden drone launched by the Houthi exploded on Thursday over a Yemeni military parade at al-Anad Air Base in Lahj, leaving several troops dead and injured.
Military officials said at least six people were killed and around 20 injured, including "officers and senior leaders" from the Yemeni army.
