Houthi rebels in Yemen have stated that they will not support a US plan to broker a ceasefire between the Iranian-backed group, seen as a proxy for Iran, and what is left of the Saudi Arabia-backed government.
In recent days, the Houthis have begun marching toward the gas-rich area of Marbi, which is the government's last stronghold in Northern Yemen. The UN has issued a dire warning that millions of civilians in the area are in danger.
A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition has been fighting the Houthis in Yemen since 2015 when the group displaced the country's government from its capital Sanaa.
US special envoy for Yemen, Timothy Lenderking urged the Houthis to respond to the plan on Friday, warning that the humanitarian situation is spiralling out of control and stating that the U.S. wants to restore aid to Northern Yemen as well as attempt to deliver fuel to Yemenis in need.
Five years of fighting have led to the displacement of four million people, economic devastation and widespread hunger.
Meanwhile, Geneva-based human rights group Sam Organization, which seeks to monitor human rights violations in Yemen is reporting that “the Houthis were directly & consistently responsible for the killing & injury of approximately 450, mostly Ethiopian, migrants in a detention center on March 7, 2021 in a fire caused by bombs apparently fired by Houthi forces.”