Escalating Violence as UN Envoy Warns Yemen Has Plunged Back Into Full-Scale War

The UN special envoy for Yemen issued a grave warning to the Security Council on Friday, stating that the nation has reverted to all-out conflict as fighting engulfs multiple fronts and Houthi strikes targeting Saudi Arabia threaten to worsen regional instability.

“In the past few weeks, Yemen has slid back into full-scale war, with hostilities spreading across multiple front lines,” UN envoy Hans Grundberg informed the 15-member council.

Previously, the Iran-backed Houthis advanced in the direction of Mokha and the coastline along the vital Bab Al Mandeb strait. Meanwhile, Yemen's internationally recognised government reported reclaiming nearby territory through a counteroffensive initiated this week.

The conflict has increasingly expanded into Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities stated that three Saudi citizens, consisting of an airline pilot and two others, lost their lives in attacks on Thursday targeting Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and a Saudi aircraft. The Houthis asserted responsibility for the airport assaults.

Mr Grundberg strongly condemned Houthi strikes directed at Saudi civilian and energy infrastructure, which included Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport. He further cautioned that threats directed at Saudi-linked commercial vessels situated in the Red Sea could further jeopardize international shipping and energy markets.

“These threats are becoming enmeshed with the broader confrontation over control of maritime trade routes and the stresses on the international energy market,” he stated.

Data from the UN indicates that over 200,000 individuals have been displaced throughout Yemen since early August, marking the peak level of new displacement recorded since the 2022 truce. Furthermore, nearly 4,000 people have crossed the Bab Al Mandeb strait to find refuge in Djibouti and Somalia.

Despite the intensification of hostilities, Mr Grundberg called upon the warring factions to engage in negotiations. “Unless war is to become Yemen's permanent reality, the time to consider political strategies is now,” he observed.