UN Security Council Meets as Yemen Returns to Full-Scale War

The United Nations Security Council convened Friday to address the escalation of the 12-year war in Yemen after a Houthi offensive launched in September. UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg warned the council that the country has slid back into full-scale war, with hostilities spreading across multiple front lines and threatening international shipping in the Red Sea.

Houthi forces have conducted cross-border missile and drone strikes targeting Saudi Arabian energy infrastructure and airports, including King Khalid International Airport. A Thursday attack on a Saudi aircraft and airport killed three citizens. In response, the Government of Yemen reported the recapture of the port city of Mocha, though fighting continues to intensify around Taiz as Houthis advance toward the Bab Al Mandeb strait.

The violence has triggered a severe humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 200,000 people within Yemen since August, while nearly 4,000 others have fled to Djibouti and Somalia. The region is facing surging cholera cases, rising child casualties, and deepening hunger. Representatives from Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government urged the Security Council to take decisive action against Houthi funding and weaponry. Grundberg cautioned that battlefield gains cannot substitute for the negotiations required to settle the conflict.