Yemen has slid back into “full-scale war”, the United Nations envoy to the country has told the Security Council. He urged governments to back negotiations, warning that battlefield gains cannot settle the conflict.
Yemen has slid back into “full-scale war”, the UN Special Envoy to the country, Hans Grundberg, has warned, Al Jazeera reported.
He was addressing the UN Security Council on Friday, October 9, as fighting continued between the Houthis and forces of the internationally recognised government.
The Civilian Cost
According to the UN, at least 46 civilians have been killed and more than 130 injured since August. Children have borne a disproportionate share of the toll.
Grundberg said civilians, including women and children, were bearing the “brunt of escalating violence”.
The Envoy’s Appeal
“Unless war is to become Yemen’s permanent reality, the time to consider political strategies is now,” Grundberg said.
“Ultimately, gains on the battlefield cannot substitute for the negotiations that will be required to settle the conflict.”
He urged the Council’s members to support mediation efforts collectively.
A Regional Problem
Grundberg tied the fighting to wider instability. “Ongoing instability in the Middle East continues to impact dynamics in Yemen, while developments in Yemen, in turn, reverberate across the region,” he said.
He acknowledged that regional security, freedom of navigation and the protection of international trade are legitimate concerns, but said international engagement must also reflect “the needs and aspirations” of Yemenis.
The Government’s View
Abdullah Ali Fadhel al-Saadi, representing Yemen’s internationally recognised government, told the Council that the threat from the Houthis was no longer an “internal Yemeni affair”.
He called for “decisive, practical measures” to reduce the flow of funding, weapons and technology to the Iranian-backed group.
Saudi Arabia’s Warning
The meeting came a day after attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, in which three Saudi citizens were killed. Gulf and European states have condemned the attack.
Saudi Arabia’s UN representative, Abdulaziz al-Wasil, said the Council must address the “dangerous escalation”.
Riyadh, he said, will “not allow Yemen to be turned into a staging ground for threats to its security or to the freedom of navigation”.
Image: UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg (right) with then US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in 2023 (file photo). Photo by the US Department of State via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
