Yemen Monitor / New York / Exclusive:
The UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, warned on Thursday of a return to full-scale war in the country amid ongoing military mobilization.
Grundberg stated, “Resuming full-scale war in Yemen is not in anyone’s interest and should be avoided.”
He added, “The path to de-escalation in Yemen lies in diplomacy based on dialogue and mutual commitment.”
He continued, “It is essential that the international community continues to take unified actions to ensure a peaceful and sustainable resolution for the Yemeni people.”
He emphasized that “achieving stability and peace in Yemen is crucial for Yemenis as well as for the security and stability of the region.”
This comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has launched airstrike campaign against the Houthis since mid-March, following a year of unsuccessful strikes by his predecessor, Joe Biden, aimed at stopping the group’s attacks. Although the U.S. military has been carrying out daily strikes on Houthi targets, the Pentagon has not provided details on the attacks since March 17, when it announced targeting more than 30 Houthi sites on the first day.
Houthi officials claim the strikes have also hit residential areas and buildings in the capital, Sana’a, resulting in an unknown number of civilian casualties.
The Houthis have largely succeeded in keeping Western ships away from the Red Sea. Since they began targeting vessels in 2023, they have carried out approximately 130 attacks on commercial ships, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a crisis monitoring group.
Since April 2022, a fragile truce has been in place between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government. The period that followed saw a rapprochement between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, leading to an unprecedented visit in April 2023 by the Saudi ambassador to Sanaa, Mohammed Al Jaber, where he met with Houthi leaders. Subsequently, the Houthis and Saudis reached a roadmap, adopted by the United Nations, but it stalled following the onset of Red Sea attacks.
The war in Yemen escalated in 2014 when the Houthis seized control of Sana’a and most of the country’s provinces, forcing former Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and his internationally recognized government to flee the capital. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition was formed to support the legitimate government and has since conducted airstrikes against the Houthis across most of the country. These strikes ceased following the fragile 2022 truce.
