The Houthis are pushing towards the gas-rich Marib region, the last government stronghold in northern Yemen.
A “solid plan” for a nationwide ceasefire in Yemen has been “for a few days” ahead of the Houthi leadership, but it appears that the group is giving priority to a military offensive to take Marib, said US special envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking Friday.
“I will return immediately when the Houthis are ready to talk,” Lenderking told the Atlantic Council think tank after visiting the region to revive efforts to end the six-year conflict, commonly known as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and the Iran is viewed.
“The US and the UN – we urge the Houthis to respond,” he said. “If we can’t make progress now, the country will lead to major conflict and instability.”
Soldiers ride in the back of a patrol car during the funeral of Brigadier General Abdul-Ghani Shaalan, the commanding officer of the Marib Special Security Forces, who was recently killed in fighting with Houthi fighters in Marib, Yemen [File: Ali Owidha/Reuters]A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Iranian-allied Houthi group overthrew the country’s government from the capital, Sanaa. The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system.
“We now have a solid plan for a nationwide ceasefire with elements that will immediately tackle the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen,” said Lenderking. “This plan came before the Houthi leadership a few days ago.”
However, the Houthis have recently pushed towards the gas-rich Marib region to capture the last government stronghold in northern Yemen. The United Nations has warned that millions of civilians are at risk.
“Tragically, and somewhat confusing to me, it seems that the Houthis are prioritizing a military campaign to take over Marib … rather than suspending the war and bringing relief to the Yemeni people,” Lenderking said.
He announced that the United States would restore funding for humanitarian aid to Northern Yemen and said Washington would work with the governments of Yemen and Saudi Arabia to find a way to serve the Yemenis who need it most To deliver fuel.
The United Nations describes the Yemen conflict as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
On Thursday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres informed a US-organized high-level UN Security Council meeting that by the end of 2020, more than 88 million people in Yemen and three dozen other countries were suffering from “acute hunger” instability due to conflict and “acute hunger” .
Workers pile aid at a food distribution center supported by the World Food Program in Sanaa, Yemen [File: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters]”Today I have a simple message: if you don’t feed people, you feed conflicts,” Guterres said.
“Conflict drives anger and hunger, and anger and famine drive conflict. When a country or region is hit by conflict and hunger, they are mutually reinforcing, ”he said. “They cannot be solved separately.”
Five years of conflict in Yemen have displaced four million people, leaving many “facing death sentences as widespread hunger persecutes their nation,” Guterres said. “Around half of all children under five – 2.3 million – are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021. Around 16 million people are confronted with food insecurity.”
According to the United Nations, around 80 percent of Yemenis need help. 400,000 children under five are severely malnourished. For a large part of its food, the country is dependent on imports, which have been severely disrupted by all warring parties over the years.
People’s suffering has been exacerbated by an economic and currency collapse, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
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