U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking is in Saudi Arabia today to encourage Saudi and Yemeni officials to establish a peace deal ending the war in Yemen. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman advocated for an immediate cease-fire yesterday during a meeting with her Omani counterpart. In recent days, fighting has intensified in the Yemeni government’s last stronghold, in the country’s northern Marib Governorate (National)
Yemen Explosion Kills Seventeen
An explosion that Yemen’s Saudi-backed government blamed on a Houthi missile strike killed at least seventeen people, including a five-year-old girl, at a gas station in the Marib Governorate. U.S. and British envoys called for the Houthis to end their offensive in northern Yemen (Reuters)
UN Security Council Calls for Cease-fire in Yemen
The UN Security Council called for an immediate cease-fire in the country, singling out an offensive by Houthi rebels in the governorate of Marib (Associated Press)
Iran Signals Support for Cease-Fire in Yemen
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reiterated Iran’s support for a cease-fire in Yemen and talks between the Houthi rebels and Yemen’s internationally recognized government. His comments came a day after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who recently signaled a more conciliatory approach to Iran, also called for a cease-fire and talks in Yemen (Al Jazeera)
Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Reportedly Advancing on Marib
Houthi fighters in Yemen are advancing on the city of Marib, the government’s last northern stronghold, military sources said. While the Yemeni government disputed the claims, observers say the Houthis intend to capture the city to gain leverage in negotiations (Agence France-Presse)
Houthis Claim Attack on Saudi State Oil Firm
Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they fired seventeen drones and two ballistic missiles at targets in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed the attacks, but the rebels claimed to target a state oil firm and refineries in the country (Reuters)
Yemen’s Houthis Claim Attack in Saudi Arabia
A spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthi rebels said the group carried out drone strikes in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh. The attack, which has not been confirmed by Saudi authorities, comes amid a renewed diplomatic push for a cease-fire (Al Jazeera)
Saudi Arabia Proposes Cease-Fire With Houthis
Saudi Arabia announced a proposal for a cease-fire with the Houthi rebels, including a plan allowing food and fuel imports through Yemen’s main port and renewing talks between the rebels and the Yemeni government. The Houthis rejected the proposal (Al Jazeera)
Saudi-led Coalition Conduct Air Raids on Houthi Military Targets
The Saudi-led coalition conducted dozens of air raids on Houthi military targets. A missile and drone assembly plant, as well as a food production company, were stuck in this latest round of air strikes (Al Jazeera)
UN Security Council Calls on Houthis to Stop Offensive
The UN Security Council called on Houthi rebels to stop their offensive in the northern region of Marib, the internationally recognized government’s last major stronghold (Al-Monitor)
Separately, Houthis launched an attack with six drones that hit a Saudi government-controlled oil facility (Reuters)
UN: More Aid Needed to Avert Yemen Famine
Aid agencies have received $374 million of the pledged $1.7 billion dollars to fund Yemen’s Humanitarian Response Plan. The United Nations warns that a total of $3.85 billion is needed to prevent the world’s worst famine in decades (Reuters)
Protesters Reportedly Breach Presidential Palace in Yemen
Protesters stormed the Maasheeq Presidential Palace in the Yemeni city of Aden while officials from the internationally recognized government were inside, witnesses said. The demonstrators are members of the national security forces who have gone without pay for months (Al Jazeera)
Separately, Saudi Arabian state media said that Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched two ballistic missiles at uninhabited border land in southern Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition reportedly destroyed a bunker of ballistic missiles and launch pads in northern Yemen in response to the Houthi attack (Reuters)
Yemen’s Houthis Claim Drone Attack on Saudi Arabia
Yemen’s Houthi movement said it fired armed drones and struck military targets at Abha airport and King Kahlid air base in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition confirmed that it intercepted a Houthi drone fired towards southern Saudi Arabia (Reuters)
U.S.: Yemen’s Houthis Should Start Negotiating
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said Yemen’s Houthi rebels need to “stop attacking and start negotiating” after the group launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Today, Saudi state media reported that a Saudi-led coalition intercepted another drone attack by the Houthis (Al Jazeera)
Yemen’s Houthi Rebels, Saudi Arabia Exchange Attacks
Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced that they had fired more than twenty drones and ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia (Al Jazeera, Reuters)
A Saudi-led military coalition claimed it intercepted multiple drones, but an oil facility in the Saudi port city of Ras Tanura was among the targets hit. The coalition launched air strikes targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen’s capital Sanaa and in other governorates, Saudi Arabia’s official news agency reported (Washington Post)
Houthi Forces in Yemen Launch Drones Into Saudi Arabia
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen claimed to intercept six explosive drones fired towards southern Saudi Arabia, as a Houthi military spokesman claimed firing eight drones, successfully hitting an airport and airbase. As fighting intensifies, the United States and United Nations renewed peace efforts (Reuters)
Houthi Rebels Claim Missile Attack on Saudi Arabian Facilities
Yemen’s Houthi rebels said their missiles struck an air base and an oil facility in Saudi Arabia today (Washington Post)
U.S. Officials Met With Yemeni Houthis
Senior U.S. officials reportedly held their first direct meeting with officials from Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The details of the meeting have not been made public, but the Biden administration seeks to end the six-year war (Reuters)
Houthi Rebels, Yemeni Military Clash in Marib
Forces from the internationally recognized government are battling Houthi rebels in Marib Governorate, with government sources saying hundreds of fighters on both sides have been killed since Friday (Al Jazeera)
Separately, countries and donors will participate in a virtual conference today to raise aid for conflict-ravaged Yemen (Agence France-Presse)
UN Warns of Famine in Yemen
UN aid chief Mark Lowcock warned that war-torn Yemen will face large-scale famine if the United Nations cannot raise the $3.85 billion it needs for humanitarian activities this year. He called on countries in the Persian Gulf to help fill the funding gap (Middle East Eye)
Hundreds of Fighters Killed in Yemeni Region of Marib
Hundreds of fighters have been killed in a weeks-long Houthi offensive on the Yemeni region of Marib. A military source described the offensive as the conflict’s deadliest clashes since 2018, when the Saudi-led coalition launched an assault on the port city of Hodeidah (Reuters)
Biden Administration Reverses Designations of Houthis as Terrorists
The United States dropped its designations of the Houthis in Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization and specially designated global terrorists. Announced last week, the move reverses a final-hour decision by the Donald J. Trump administration that many feared would aggravate the humanitarian crisis in war-torn Yemen (Al Jazeera)
Saudi Arabia Urges UN Security Council to Act on Houthis
The Saudi representative to the United Nations, Abdallah al-Mouallimi, urged the UN Security Council to hold Yemen’s Houthi rebels accountable for their actions, which he said violate international law, impede a political solution to Yemen’s war, and undermine regional security and peace (Arab News)
Houthis in Yemen Launch Drone Attack on Saudi Airport
Houthi forces in Yemen carried out drone attack on a Saudi Arabian airport. The Saudi coalition fighting Houthi forces in Yemen said the attack on the airport was a war crime and put civilian travelers in danger (Reuters)
Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen Intercepts Armed Houthi Drone
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted an armed Houthi drone today, the second day in a row. According to a Saudi coalition spokesman the drone was aimed at “civilians and civilian objects” in southern Saudi Arabia (Reuters)