Houthi Attacks Worsen Humanitarian Plight in Yemen

Recent attacks by the Houthi militia in two Yemeni cities risk triggering a military escalation and could further worsen a dire humanitarian situation, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg told the Security Council.

In recent weeks, the Houthis, or Ansar Allah, have attacked oil terminals and ports in Hadramawt and Shabwa governorates to deprive the Government of its main source of revenue, namely oil exports, he pointed out.

Those attacks have significant economic repercussions, undermine the welfare of all Yemenis and risk setting off a military escalation while also worsening the humanitarian situation. The parties must urgently reach an agreement to renew the truce and exercise maximum restraint, Grundberg said.

Council members echoed the Special Envoy’s calls for maximum restraint, warning that heightened tensions could lead to renewed hostilities. Voicing concern about Houthi attacks, they called on that group to remove impediments to humanitarian access and put the interests of the Yemeni people before their own.

The United States’ representative, while welcoming the fact that key elements of the truce are holding, expressed concern that the Houthis are taking actions that run counter to strong international support for United Nations-led peace efforts.

Recent Houthi attacks on commercial vessels are increasing the suffering of the Yemeni people and threatening to plunge the country back into conflict, he said, urging the Houthis to “take another path” and choose to end eight years of war.

Yemen’s representative said the international community must recognize the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization, rather than merely condemn their terrorist attacks. While optimism prevailed among the Yemeni people after eight years of war, their hopes dissipated when the terrorist Houthi militia, supported by Iran, chose escalation and refused to renew the truce.