AL-MUKALLA: The US-led Red Sea marine coalition destroyed four drones fired by Yemen’s Houthis from regions under their control against ships in international waters off Yemen’s shores, the US military said on Sunday morning.

The US Central Command said that a coalition warplane destroyed a drone launched by the Houthis from Yemen over the Gulf of Aden on Friday, inflicting no human casualties or damage to the coalition’s navy or international commercial ships.

On Saturday morning, the Houthis launched three drones over the Red Sea, but they failed to reach their objectives after being intercepted by CENTCOM forces.

“There were no injuries or damages reported by US, coalition, or merchant vessels,” the US military said. It further committed to continued military action that includes taking down Houthi drones and missiles in the air and destroying them on the ground in Yemen to make international trade channels “safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels.”

The Houthis have made no new claims of assaults on ships in the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden since Thursday,

Since November, the Houthis have seized a commercial ship, sunk another, and launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and remotely controlled and explosives-laden boats at international commercial and naval ships in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait, and Gulf of Aden, as well as recent attacks in the Indian Ocean.

They say that their campaign is aimed only at Israel-linked ships and those traveling to Israel, with the goal of pressuring Israel to cease its assault in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, and that they targeted US and UK ships after the two countries launched attacks on parts of Yemen under their control.

At the same time, Yemen’s Foreign Minister Shaya Mohsen Al-Zindani said that the Yemeni government and the Houthis had been about to sign the UN-brokered road map, put together with assistance from Saudi Arabia and Oman, but the Houthi Red Sea strikes foiled the signing, dealing a severe blow to peace efforts to end the Yemen war. 

In an interview with Al-Hadath TV on Saturday, Al-Zindani said that the international community has taken a firm stance against the Houthis — a departure from their previous soft stance — following their escalation in the Red Sea and accused the militia of not being serious about peace in Yemen. 

“The events and escalation in the Red Sea have confirmed to them what the legitimacy had proposed: that this group is violent, not inclined to peace, and cannot exist without war,” the Yemeni minister said.

He again accused Iran of aiding the Houthis.

“We hope that Iran will stop intervening in Yemeni affairs and instead try to promote peace in Yemen.”

Meanwhile, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg on Sunday arrived in the southern port city of Aden, the base for Yemen’s internationally recognized government, to meet with the presidential council leader and government officials, stepping up his efforts to persuade Yemen’s warring factions to sign the road map for peace.

Grundberg has recently traveled between towns in the area to seek international backing for his attempts to broker a peace deal in Yemen.