Houthis ‘passed up major opportunity’ by refusing UN meeting: US

‘Dire conditions’ in Yemen worsen as Houthis press Marib offensive, Saudis urged to ease blockade, US says.

Houthi representatives “passed up a major opportunity” by refusing to meet in Oman with United Nations special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths, the US State Department said on Friday, urging all parties to negotiate an end to the brutal six-year conflict. “There is a fair deal on the table that will bring immediate relief to Yemeni people,” the State Department said in a statement released upon the return to the United States of Special Envoy Tim Lenderking from a round of meetings in Oman, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. “Contrary to their pronouncements regarding the humanitarian situation in Yemen, the Houthis worsen it by continuing to attack Marib and exacerbating dire conditions for already vulnerable, internally displaced Yemenis,” the State Department statement said.