The United States on Friday accused Yemen's Huthi rebels of deliberate provocations to jeopardize peace efforts after a projectile sparked a fire at an oil terminal in Saudi Arabia.
"The actions by the Huthis are a clear provocation meant to perpetuate the conflict," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
"The Houthis actions are prolonging the suffering of the Yemeni people and jeopardizing peace efforts at a critical moment when the international community is increasingly united behind a ceasefire and a resolution of the conflict," Price said.
The strike on Thursday in Saudi Arabia's southern Jizan province came shortly after Saudi Arabia -- which has waged a devastating six-year campaign in Yemen -- proposed a ceasefire.
US President Joe Biden's administration has stepped up efforts to end the conflict and address what the United Nations considers the world's most dire humanitarian situation, with 80 per cent of Yemen depending on assistance.
But the Iranian-backed rebels, who control the capital Sanaa, have been pressing their advantage and stepped up cross-border attacks.
The latest strike on oil giant Saudi Arabia came as the US special envoy on Yemen, Tim Lenderking, returns to the region to press for an end to the war.
(Published 26 March 2021, 18:37 IST)
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