UN envoy arrives in Yemen's capital for talks with rebels

The U.N. special envoy for Yemen arrived Monday in the capital of Sanaa for the first time since he assumed his post eight months ago for talks with the Houthi rebels, his office said.

Hans Grundberg landed at the Sanaa airport with the aim of engaging the Houthi leadership on implementing and strengthening a 60-day cease-fire in the war-wrecked country, his office said.

The two-month truce implemented April 2 was the first nationwide cease-fire in six years in Yemen’s civil war that erupted in 2014. That year, Iranian-backed Houthis seized Sanaa and forced the internationally recognized government into exile. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war in early 2015 to try to restore the government to power.

Grundberg’s Sanaa visit was his first to the rebel-held capital since he was appointed in August because the Houthis refused to receive him. He has met repeatedly with chief Houthi negotiator Mohammed Abdul-Salam in Oman’s capital of Muscat, most recently on Sunday.

The visit was apparently facilitated by Oman, which plays a mediation role in Yemen's war. Grundberg also met Sunday with Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi before leaving Muscat to Sanaa, the Omani Foreign Ministry said.

The visit came as the two-month truce entered its second week with reports of violations particularly around the central city of Marib. Last week, the U.N. envoy urged the warring sides to uphold the truce.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government has accused the Iran-backed Houthis of attacking their positions in southern and western Marib.

A Houthi spokesman was not available for comment. Houthi-run media, however, accused government forces of violating the truce in Hodeida, the key rebel-held port city.

The rebels have been trying for over a year to capture energy-rich Marib from government forces. But their efforts have been dashed in recent months amid increasing support to the pro-government side from the Saudi-led coalition.

The U.N.-announced truce also includes allowing shipments of fuel to arrive in Hodeida and for passenger flights to resume from the airport in Sanaa. Both Hodeida and Sanaa are held by the Houthis.

The U.N. envoy said he has invited both sides to convene a meeting to agree on a reopening of roads around the province of Taiz and other provinces as part of the truce.

The war in Yemen has spawned one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical shortages. It has killed over 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, according to a database project that tracks violence.

The truce has brought some relief for Yemenis during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started earlier in April.

Meanwhile, Twitter suspended an account for Houthi military spokesperson Yehia Sarie for allegedly violating its rules. It did not elaborate. The account had more than 340,000 followers.

Sarie accused Twitter of siding with the Saudi-led coalition and swiftly created a new Twitter account. He used social media accounts including Twitter to announce major Houthi attacks inside Yemen and on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday claimed shooting down another of the U.S. military's MQ-9 Reaper drones, airing footage of parts that corresponded to known pieces of the unmanned aircraft.

The Houthis said they shot down the Reaper with a surface-to-air missile, part of a renewed series of assaults this week by the rebels after a relative lull in their pressure campaign over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bryon J. McGarry, a Defense Department spokesperson, acknowledged to The Associated Press on Saturday that “a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 drone crashed in Yemen.” He said an investigation was underway, without elaborating.

The Houthis described the downing as happening Thursday over their stronghold in the country's Saada province.

Footage released by the Houthis included what they described as the missile launch targeting the drone, with a man off-camera reciting the Houthi's slogan after it was hit: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.”

The footage included several close-ups on parts of the drone that included the logo of General Atomics, which manufactures the drone, and serial numbers corresponding with known parts made by the company.

Since the Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the U.S. military has lost at least five drones to the rebels counting Thursday's shootdown — in 2017, 2019, 2023 and this year.

Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land.

The drone shootdown comes as the Houthis launch attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, demanding Israel ends the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 others hostage.

The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sank another since November, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration.

Houthi attacks have dropped in recent weeks as the rebels have been targeted by a U.S.-led airstrike campaign in Yemen. Shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has declined because of the threat. American officials have speculated that the rebels may be running out of weapons as a result of the U.S.-led campaign against them and after firing drones and missiles steadily in the last months. However, the rebels have renewed their attacks in the last week.

A Houthi supporter raises a mock rocket during a rally against the U.S. and Israel and to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, April. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)