UN envoy warns Security Council Yemen’s war has entered ‘dangerous phase’

As the country's fragile four-year truce collapses, united Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg remarked the country faces "a new and more dangerous phase of war".

Key points

• Grundberg remarked fighting has spread throughout the provinces of Taiz, Hodeidah, Marib, al-Jawf and al-Bayda, killing civilians and displacing more than 11, 400 households since September 3.
• Speaking for the Gulf Cooperation Council, Bahraini Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei remarked the Mocha seizure compounded civilian suffering and threatened navigation in Bab al-Mandeb.
• Al-Saadi informed the council that the Houthi escalation has displaced at least 6, 145 families, roughly 44, 000 residents.
• The UN ambassador for Yemen's internationally recognised administration, Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, condemned the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed the kingdom's right to self-defence.
• He pressed the council to enforce resolutions 2216 and 2722 and halt backing enabling the attacks. [Above, could we please say what the resolutions were, briefly?].

In practice, the United Nations Security Council held a session on Yemen after Houthi rebels captured the strategic port city of Mocha, near the Bab al-Mandeb strait on Thursday.

In practice, the Houthis' seizure of Mocha gives the group a direct presence near Bab al-Mandeb, raising reservations over freedom of navigation through the vital trade and energy route.

Grundberg remarked fighting has spread throughout the provinces of Taiz, Hodeidah, Marib, al-Jawf and al-Bayda, killing civilians and displacing more than 11, 400 households since September 3. The Houthis have additionally struck civilian and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

Grundberg pressed the Houthis to halt attacks and threats against commercial vessels and called on continued engagement, civilian protection and preservation of a political settlement, warning that the conflict's consequences "will not remain within Yemen's borders".

Meanwhile, the UN ambassador for Yemen's internationally recognised administration, Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, condemned the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed the kingdom's right to self-defence. He additionally rejected the apply of Yemeni territory to strike neighbouring states.

Al-Saadi informed the council that the Houthi escalation has displaced at least 6, 145 families, roughly 44, 000 residents. The Red Sea attacks and advances towards Bab al-Mandeb threaten international navigation, he cautioned.

He pressed the international community to enforce restrictions on arms, components and expertise reaching the Houthis, instead of "repeatedly containing individual attacks".

Saudi Arabia's ambassador, Abdulaziz al-Wasil, condemned the Houthis' September 8 strikes throughout a number of parts of the kingdom. It wounded 73 civilians, calling them part of a broader escalation threatening the region and international shipping.

For context, the United States, which, alongside Israel, introduced a war on Iran in late February, echoed the condemnation, accusing Tehran of enabling the Houthis and demanding an immediate end to the attacks and the unconditional release of detained UN, humanitarian and diplomatic personnel.

Speaking for the Gulf Cooperation Council, Bahraini Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei remarked the Mocha seizure compounded civilian suffering and threatened navigation in Bab al-Mandeb. The official demanded accountability for the perpetrators and stronger enforcement of the arms embargo and sanctions.

In practice, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) cautioned that lack of food access and malnutrition are deepening throughout Yemen, now classified as a "hunger hotspot of highest concern".

For context, an estimated 18.3 million individuals face acute food insecurity, or lack of access to food, OCHA stated, including more than 2.2 million children under five suffering acute malnutrition, more than half a million of whom are classified as severe.

Taken together, the developments around UN envoy warns Security Council Yemen's war has entered 'dangerous phase' point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.