“We call on all parties to put the needs of the Yemeni people first and immediately return to restraint,” Pompeo said.
On Sunday, medical staff at a hospital in the northeast of Yemen said that a missile attack on an army camp killed 80 people - including 24 soldiers - and injured dozens. The government forces responded by also killing dozens of Houthi rebels in the capital Sanaa.
Pompeo underscored the importance of the United Nations-led efforts to bring the warring parties to a political settlement and urged the Houthis to cease attacks on neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Renewed fighting in #Yemen is unacceptable. We call on all conflict parties to put the Yemeni people first and return to restraint. It is vital that we not turn our backs on recent hard-earned progress.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 28, 2020
Yemen has been engulfed for five years in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi rebels. A Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015. Though both parties signed an accord to ease tensions in 2018, the situation has escalated in recent months.
