Yemen: Bahrain says Houthis killed two serviceman amid peace talks
Bahrain’s army accused the Houthi movement of killing two of its members, a week after ceasefire talks were held between the Yemeni group and Saudi Arabia.
According to the Bahraini army, an officer and a soldier were killed in the drone attack while they were stationed inside Saudi Arabia along the border with Yemen, the state Bahrain News Agency (BNA) said.
Saudi Brigadier General Turki al-Malki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen, said they reserved “the right to respond at the appropriate time and place”.
He condemned what he called a “treacherous hostile act” by the Houthis which allegedly followed “other hostilities during the past month”.
On Tuesday, the Houthi movement said violations of a truce between them and the Saudi-led coalition have not stopped despite recent peace talks.
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It said 12 Yemeni soldiers have been killed in one month amid ongoing truce violations by forces belonging to the Saudi-led coalition, according to Reuters.
Commenting on Monday's attack, the group’s spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam told the news agency that truce violations were "regrettable".
The conflict in Yemen began in 2014 after the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa.
A Saudi-led military intervention, which included Bahrain, began in 2015, intending to restore the internationally recognised government.
Fighting has dragged on since, without a decisive military victory for either side, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths and a major humanitarian crisis.
After the UN brokered a ceasefire in April 2022, hostilities and casualties were drastically reduced. The truce expired in October, but fighting has largely remained on hold since then.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia launched diplomatic efforts to reach a permanent end to the conflict with the Houthis.
The two sides held talks in April which were followed by a major prisoner exchange involving almost 900 detainees.
Last week, a delegation from the Houthi movement travelled to Saudi Arabia to resume direct talks. After five days of discussions, Saudi Arabia said the results were “positive”.
According to analysts, the talks come as it appears Riyadh has realised its prolonged military campaign will not bring about the defeat of the Houthis.
It also follows an agreement earlier this year by Saudi Arabia and Iran, which backs the Houthis, to re-establish diplomatic ties.
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