Yemeni forces target Houthis as US rules out direct role
Saudi Arabia requests missile defence support from allies as the US sees its own stock of interceptors dwindle.
The United States reiterated its support for Yemen’s internationally recognised government on Wednesday as fighting intensified between the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi forces. US officials also held direct talks with Houthi representatives in Oman last weekend, according to sources cited by Reuters.
Yemeni government forces said that the coalition had struck Houthi positions around Mocha and that government forces had launched drone attacks in Marib. The Houthis claimed to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Marib.
Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has asked regional and Western allies for help, according to two officials who spoke to The Associated Press news agency. The Saudis asked France, Pakistan, Egypt and the United Kingdom to deploy air-defence support to help defend against attacks by the Houthis. One official said Saudi Arabia’s main ally and arms supplier, the US, has seen its own stock of interceptors dwindle over the course of the war with Iran.
At the Muscat meeting, the Houthis told US officials they had no intention of attacking US vessels and were committed to the 2025 ceasefire with the US, according to the sources cited by Reuters.