The US government on Monday condemned the latest attacks against civilian targets in Saudi Arabia by Houthi militias in Yemen.
“We strongly condemn all egregious Houthi drone and missile attacks in Saudi Arabia,” said US State Department spokesman Ned Price. “And these attacks are unacceptable, they’re dangerous, they put the lives of civilians at risk.
“We remain deeply concerned by the frequency of these attacks, including on Saudi Arabia. We strongly call on all parties to seriously commit to a ceasefire and engage in negotiations under UN auspices in conjunction with US Special Envoy (for Yemen) Tim Lenderking.”
The Iran-backed Houthis fired two ballistic missiles toward the city of Khamis Mushait on Monday. The Arab coalition said they were launched from Saada city in northwestern Yemen and landed in two uninhabited areas near the Kingdom’s southern border, Al-Ekhbariya TV reported.
Earlier, the coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by the Houthis toward Khamis Mushait in the early hours of Monday. The attacks are the latest in a series that have targeted the Kingdom in recent weeks.
Price urged the Houthis “to come to the table and to commit to peace and diplomacy in the region,” but added that attacks such as those on Monday “are not actions of a group who say that they want peace.”
He said that President Joe Biden has made ending the conflict in Yemen one of his first foreign policy priorities, and this is reflected by his appointment of Lenderking, who is working to that end with his UN counterpart, Martin Griffiths.
“We now have a sound, fair plan for a nationwide ceasefire with elements that would immediately address Yemen’s dire humanitarian situation,” said Price. “And that plan has been before Houthi leadership for days. The United States is building on a UN framework and amplifying it through our own diplomatic engagement and expanded regional support. We … call on the Houthis to seize this moment and come to the table, to diplomacy.”
Biden appointed Lenderking, a longtime State Department diplomat, as his envoy to Yemen on Feb. 4. Griffiths, a British diplomat, has been the UN envoy to the country since February 2018.
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