AL-MUKALLA: Attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea have hindered the progress of peace talks to end the war in Yemen, and impeded the delivery of crucial humanitarian support to countries dependent on aid, including Yemen itself and Palestine, a leading US official said on Wednesday.
Speaking after visits for talks to Saudi Arabia and Oman, Tim Lenderking, Washington’s special envoy for Yemen, said retaliatory strikes against Houthi targets by a US-led coalition have hampered the militia’s ability to attack international shipping.
“The Houthis must immediately halt their attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden because they are undermining progress on the Yemen peace process and complicating the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Yemenis and others in need, including the Palestinian people,” he said.
He praised the efforts of the US-led coalition ability to maintain security of Red Sea shipping lanes by minimizing the Houthi attacks, but said that a political settlement is needed to alleviate tensions.
“We favor a diplomatic solution, we know that there is no military solution,” Lenderking added.
For several months, the Houthis have been targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden with drones, ballistic missiles and remote-controlled boats. They say their actions are in support of the people of Palestine during the war in Gaza, and that they are only targeting ships bound for, or with connections to, Israel in an attempt to force authorities in the country to allow more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
Lenderking described the attacks in the Red Sea as an “act of terrorism” and accused Iran of supporting them by providing the Houthis with weapons, financing and information. In January, Washington placing the Houthis back onto its list of terrorist organizations to put pressure on the group to halt their attacks on international maritime traffic. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had removed them from the list in February 2021.
Although there has been a significant decline in Houthi attacks on shipping over the past week, the militia’s leader, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, on Wednesday repeated his pledge that the strikes would continue until Israel lifts its siege of Gaza.
“Our people are targeting the Israeli enemy and preventing them from crossing and navigating the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean,” he said during a televised speech.
The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for any attacks on ships, or drone or missiles strikes against Israel, since March 26, despite repeated alerts from the US Central Command and US marine agencies about incidents in the Red Sea.
Meanwhile, at least 12 Yemeni government soldiers were killed and 12 wounded on Wednesday morning when the Houthis attacked their position in the southern Yemeni province of Lahj. It was the latest in a series of deadly attacks on government forces in Lahj, Dhale and Abyan.
An official from the Yemeni military in Aden told Arab News that forces loyal to the Southern Transitional Council in the Kirsh region of Lahj came under heavy artillery fire shortly before 1 a.m. on Wednesday, before the Houthis launched a ground assault that resulted in heavy fighting that left dozens dead or wounded on both sides.
“The Houthis used a variety of military tactics in their attack, including heavy cover fire,” said the official, who asked to remain anonymous. “They failed to make any gains on the ground and our soldiers were able to push them back.”
The attack on Wednesday raised the total number of deaths caused by Houthi attacks on pro-independence southerners to 20 in 10 days, following previous assaults in Dhale, Lahj and Abyan in which eight separatists were killed.
