US Yemen envoy urges response on ceasefire plan with Houthis

The Houthis are pushing towards the gas-rich region of Marib, the government’s last stronghold in northern Yemen.

A “sound plan” for a nationwide ceasefire in Yemen has been before Houthi leadership for “a number of days”, but it appears the group is prioritising a military offensive to take Marib, the US special envoy for Yemen, Timothy Lenderking, said on Friday. “I will return immediately when the Houthis are prepared to talk,” Lenderking told the Atlantic Council think tank after a visit to the region to revive efforts to end the six-year conflict that is widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. “The US and UN – we urge the Houthis to respond,” he said. “If we cannot make progress now, the country will spiral into greater conflict and instability.”