U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking is visiting the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia this week "to support efforts to renew and expand the U.N.-mediated truce in Yemen," the U.S. State Department said on Thursday, one day after the top diplomat left for the region.

"We remind the Houthis that the world is watching their actions and urge them to cooperate with the UN and listen to Yemeni appeals for peace," the department said in a statement.

The only path forward to ending eight years of destructive war is through a durable ceasefire and political settlement that allows Yemenis to determine the future of their country," it said.

-Agencies