The US envoy to Yemen will head to the Gulf region on Monday, aiming to end the bloody war in the poorest countries of the Arabian Peninsula, while the Houthi rebels continue their offensive to control the government´s last foothold in the north.
The US State Department stated that Tim Lenderking, who was appointed by President Joe Biden in his early days in office, referring to renewed US efforts to confront the humanitarian catastrophe, will visit several Gulf countries on a trip that will continue until March 3.
She added in a statement that his discussions "will focus on the United States´ dual-track approach to ending the conflict in Yemen: a durable political solution and humanitarian relief for the Yemeni people," without specifying precisely where it will stop.
Lenderking was in the region less than two weeks ago when he held talks in Saudi Arabia, which Biden announced in his first decisions on the Middle East to end its support, especially in terms of armament.
Upon his return to Washington, Lenderking said that the administration is working "to revitalize international diplomatic efforts with our Gulf partners, the United Nations and others to create the right conditions for a ceasefire and push the parties toward a negotiated settlement to end the war in Yemen."
The diplomatic efforts come as the Houthis ignore international calls for restraint and seek to seize Marib, the last major stronghold of the Saudi-backed government in the north and close to some of Yemen´s richest oil fields.
In one of its first decisions, the Biden administration ended former President Donald Trump´s designation, in the last days of his term, of the Houthis, linked to Iran, as a terrorist organization.
The move came after humanitarian organizations warned that this classification would severely impede relief operations in a country whose population depends on 80 percent of its population.
