The legitimate Yemeni government is hoping for more international pressure to be exerted on the Iran-backed Houthi militias to persuade them to return to peace talks.
Efforts by United Nations envoy Martin Griffiths and regional initiatives on Yemen have been rejected by the Houthis, which have opted to escalate their military campaign in Marib and west coast.
The government believes that more pressure on the Houthis will force them to change course. This was demonstrated in statements by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik.
The PM is counting specifically on Washington’s role in achieving a breakthrough in Yemen, especially since the Biden administration appears to be prioritizing ending the conflict.
It slapped sanctions last week on Houthi military officials, taking action over the Iran-backed militias’ offensive to seize the gas-rich Marib region.
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said the move demonstrates that the American administration was reviewing its decision earlier this year to remove the militias’ terrorist designation.
The removal of the designation should have encouraged the Houthis to join peace efforts, but instead, they viewed it as a green light to carry out more military and political escalation, he added.
The minister welcomed the new sanctions, noting however that they have not impacted the Houthi offensive in Marib, their terrorist acts that target residential neighborhoods and displacement camps in liberated regions, and attacks against neighboring countries.
Eryani called on the international community and American administration to reconsider their approach towards the Houthis and to designate them as terrorist, which would be an important step towards drying up their sources of financing and limit their ability to carry out terrorist acts.
The move should puh them towards seriously joining peace efforts and ending the humanitarian suffering of the people, he remarked.
Official Yemeni sources said Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Awad bin Mubarak had stressed the importance of doubling international pressure on the Houthis to accept peace and end the war.
Despite the Houthi obstacles, he said the government will continue to pursue peace.
The Houthis have openly declared that there was no purpose to having a UN envoy to Yemen. They said that they would end the fighting only when they take control over Yemen, when restrictions over air and sea portals that are under their control are lifted and when the Saudi-led Arab coalition abandons the legitimate government.
