US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking will travel to the region this week for a new round of talks aimed at pressuring the Iran-backed Houthi militias to end their attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
Lenderking will travel “to Saudi Arabia and Oman this week to meet with partners to discuss the need for an immediate cessation of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which are undermining progress on the Yemen peace process and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Yemen and other countries in need,” said a US State Department statement on Monday.
“The United States remains firmly committed to supporting a durable peace in Yemen and alleviating the complex humanitarian and economic crises harming the Yemeni people. The United States supports a return to UN-led peace efforts once the Houthis halt their indiscriminate attacks,” it added.
“Lenderking will meet with regional counterparts to discuss the steps to de-escalate the current situation and renew focus on securing a durable peace for the Yemeni people,” it said.
The US military said Sunday its forces destroyed one unmanned aerial vehicle in a Houthi-held area of Yemen and another over a crucial shipping route in the Red Sea. It was the latest development in months of tension between the militias and the US.
The drones, which were destroyed Saturday morning, posed a threat to US and coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region, said the US Central Command.
It said that one done was destroyed over the Red Sea, while the second was destroyed on the ground as it was prepared to launch.
“These actions are necessary to protect our forces, ensure freedom of navigation, and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels,” CENTCOM said.
The Houthis launched a campaign of drone and missile attacks on shipping in the Red Sea in November. They have also fired missiles toward Israel, although those have largely fallen short or been intercepted.
The militias have described their campaign as an effort to pressure Israel to end its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The ships targeted by the Houthis, however, largely have had little or no connection to Israel, the US or other nations involved in the war.
The Houthis have kept up their campaign of attacks despite more than two months of US-led airstrikes.
Earlier this month, CENTCOM said its forces also destroyed four unmanned aerial vehicles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. It also said Houthis fired four anti-ship ballistic missiles toward the Red Sea, but no injuries or damages were reported by US, coalition or commercial ships.
The escalation in the Red Sea and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza impacted the UN-led efforts to relaunch political talks to end Yemen’s yearslong conflict, according to the UN envoy for Yemen.
Hans Grundberg told the UN Security Council in mid-March that he had hoped to reach an agreement on a nationwide ceasefire in Yemen by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began early in March.
He warned that Yemen could be propelled back into war, saying that “the longer the escalatory environment (in the region) continues, the more challenging Yemen’s mediation space will become.”
Fighting has decreased markedly in Yemen since a truce in April 2022, but there are still hotspots in the country.
