Can a subtle change in the US help the legitimate Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen end an aggravated civil war?
Amman, Jordan  The man tasked by President Biden to find a political solution to it Yemens bloody civil war has said for the first time that the US recognizes Iranian-backed Houthi rebels as a legitimate actor and acknowledges that both sides in the conflict bear responsibility for the violence. Remarks by special envoy Tim Lenderking during a webinar Thursday hosted by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations were a clear advantage over the Houthis rebels. However, it was not clear whether the nuanced change in Washingtons position could be enough to bring real momentum to a peace process which, after nearly seven years of death and destruction, there is little to show. A legitimate actor  The United States recognizes them as a legitimate actor, Lenderking told Houthis. No one can wish them far or outside the conflict, so let s deal with the realities that exist on the ground.  My experience from Houthis is that they have talked about a commitment to peace in Yemen and I think there are certainly elements within the leadership that favor it, he added. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 30, 2021. SAUDI PRESS AGENCY / Manual / Reuters    It was a noticeable change in the tone of the American government. For years, US officials have blamed the ongoing war  which the UN says has claimed nearly 8,000 civilian lives and displaced more than 4 million people  almost entirely on the Iran-backed insurgency. Saudi Arabia, with US support, launched the war against the Houthis in defense of the well-known Yemeni government at the UN in 2015. Since then, Houthi forces have cemented control over much of northern Yemen, creating a parallel government in the process. Both the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi have been accused of waging war with little regard for civilian lives, including Saudi airstrikes that have hit hospitals and Houthi homes and missiles indiscriminately fired at airports and energy infrastructure. Coronavirus threatens war-torn Yemen 05:49  Houthi does not just own the violence group, Lenderking admitted. Obviously the Saudi-led coalition has kept its share of responsibilities as well.  More      A senior US official was quick to clarify Lenderkings remarks, telling CBS News that while the United States and the rest of the international community, [still] recognize the government of Yemen as the only legitimate government, internationally recognized in Yemen H Houthi control the territory, they control the people and should be treated. So they are real political actors in Yemen. You can not claim they do not exist.  or tweet posted on the official State Department account in Arabic on Friday reiterated that message and stressed that while the U.S. acknowledges that the Houthis will have to be an integral part of any peace process in Yemen  we remain concerned about the focus Houthis on the development of the war and the worsening suffering of Yemeni citizens instead of being part of the conflict resolution.  The cycle of violence  Lending returned just last week from his last diplomatic mission in the region. He met again in Saudi Arabia with Saudi and Yemeni government officials but, so far, in seven visits, he has not held any direct meetings with the Houthis. Guards of honor hold coffins of Houthi fighters killed in ongoing fighting between Houthis and Yemeni government forces for control of Yemens oil-rich Marib region, during a funeral on April 22, 2021 in Sanaa, Yemen. Mohammed Hamoud / Geti    The war in Yemen has recently centered around the oil-rich province of Marib, where the Houthis are fighting to capture the last government-controlled province in the north of the country. The battle has left massive casualties on both sides and hundreds of thousands of civilians have been captured in the middle. But like the war itself, it is a stalemate, only managing to endanger millions of more vulnerable people. After more than six years of conflict, Yemen remains the worlds largest humanitarian crisis and millions of displaced Yemenis are just one step away from starvation, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned in latest global report. The internally displaced population reached 4 million people, with displaced families facing an acute risk of starvation amid violence, service collapse and prolonged displacement.  I think we need to break the cycle, Lenderking said Thursday. This is essential to my mission: Break the cycle that every Yemeni or foreign group thinks the only way to make progress is on the battlefield.  But Nasrullah Amer, head of the Houthi media center and a spokesman for the group, was disregarding U.S. diplomatic efforts. Legitimacy and blockades  We are not expecting anyone to recognize our legitimacy as much as a change in behavior from the United States to our country as a whole, he told CBS News on Friday. Instead of recognizing us, they should recognize the suffering of the Yemeni people and try to alleviate it and lift the blockade imposed by US naval vessels in order to find a peaceful solution.  The Houthis have long called for an end to the blockade of their Saudi-backed US-backed territory, which includes tight controls in all Yemeni ports and a ban on flights inside and outside the rebel-held international airport. in Sanaa. The coalition has accused the Houthis of using the airport to smuggle weapons, which they deny. The flight ban and transport embargo have not only restricted the flow of vital goods to the Yemeni rebel-held north, but have also made it more difficult for Yemenis to get out of their war-torn country. Houthi fighters ride a truck carrying the coffin of a fighter who was killed in ongoing fighting between Houthis and Yemeni government forces for control of Yemens oil-rich Marib region during a funeral on June 19, 2021 in Sanaa, Yemen. Mohammed Hamoud / Geti    Amer claimed that the percentage of [fuel-carrying] the ships that entered during the Biden period is very small compared to the ships that entered [during] the Trump era.   He noted that the Saudi-led war against Houthis was announced in Washington in 2015 and said that from Houthis perspective, only Washington could end it. President Biden must stop this aggression from the same country from which it was reported, and more visits need serious purpose, otherwise they are worthless, Amer said. He did not expect Lenderkings visits to break the deadlock: The issue is very simple: If they stop the raids and lift the siege, the war will end.  The top U.S. official who spoke to CBS News said Washington believed Houthi could and would play an integral part in any interim government agreed through negotiations. But the official said it would be impossible to reach that stage through a military process, and stressed that Houthis must be willing to commit to a ceasefire and talks. The Houthis are the main obstacles  the campaign continues to refuse to commit to a comprehensive ceasefire, the official said.