Yemen at highest risk of major conflict since 2022 truce: UN

Yemen confronts its gravest risk of renewed large-scale warfare since a 2022 UN-mandated truce, warned UN envoy Hans Grundberg on Thursday. The global body reported that over half of Yemen's population now faces extreme food shortages. Tensions escalated between the Iran-aligned Houthis and the internationally-recognized Saudi-backed government, raising concerns of a broader conflict and regional instability.

Grundberg informed the Security Council of intensified military activity near the frontlines. Recent attacks by the Houthis in Marib, Hadramawt, Mocha and other areas resulted in both civilian and military casualties. The resumption of Houthi assaults on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden threatens to draw Yemen into a larger regional confrontation, as the crisis in the Hormuz Strait already impacts global trade and energy supplies.

Grundberg urged the conflicting parties to immediately de-escalate and negotiate a robust ceasefire, emphasizing that attacks and threats against shipping and cross-border invasions must cease. He stated that a negotiated "off-ramp" is still achievable and urged nations with influence over the parties to steer Yemen back to negotiation.

The intensification of hostilities coincided with the worsening humanitarian crisis in Yemen. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher informed the council that more than half the population now faces acute food insecurity, while 6 million people are at "Emergency" levels of acute food deprivation, bordering on famine. Both Grundberg and Fletcher called for the release of 73 UN staff members detained by the Houthis, as well as personnel from NGOs, civil society, and diplomatic missions.

Grundberg also noted that preparations to free over 1,600 conflict-related detainees, agreed upon in May, are progressing slowly and could be disrupted by the broader escalation. On July 20, the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, claiming it as retaliation for a Saudi siege of Yemen, a claim Riyadh denies.

In response, a Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on facilities they claimed were linked to Houthi threats against commercial shipping. Since 2014, Yemen has been engulfed in conflict after the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, leading to a Saudi-led military intervention the following year. Although the UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted major hostilities, it expired six months later, with efforts to transform it into a lasting political solution stalled due to the intensifying regional tensions.