US special envoy for Yemen heads to Saudi Arabia, Oman to discuss Houthis attacks in Red Sea

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking is traveling to Saudi Arabia and Oman this week to meet with partners to discuss the need for an "immediate cessation" of the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, State Department announced on Monday.

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, according to the statement.

The statement said the Houthi attacks are "undermining progress on the Yemen peace process and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Yemen and other countries in need."

"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 Department said in the statement.

"The United States supports a return to UN-led peace efforts once the Houthis halt their indiscriminate attacks," it added.

The Houthis have been targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to and from Israel in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, where nearly 32,850 people have been killed in an Israeli offensive since last October following a Hamas attack.

A coalition led by the US has conducted intermittent airstrikes since Jan. 12 that have targeted Houthi sites inside Yemen in response to the attacks in the Red Sea, one of the world's most frequently used sea routes for oil and fuel shipments.