Yemen

As June marks one year since the arbitrary detention of dozens of personnel from the UN, NGOs, civil society organizations and diplomatic missions by the Houthi de facto authorities in Yemen, the UN Secretary-General has reiterated his call for their release, urging they be freed “immediately and unconditionally.”

The ceasefire between the United States and Houthi rebels in Yemen provides an opportunity to revitalize the peace process in the Middle Eastern country, the UN Security Council heard on Wednesday. Ambassadors were briefed by the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, who commended Oman for its efforts to achieve the agreement which came into effect on 6 May.

The UN Secretary-General has expressed grave concern over US airstrikes in and around Yemen’s port of Ra’s Isa this week, which reportedly resulted in scores of civilian casualties. At least five humanitarian workers were said to be among those injured, and significant damage was reported to port infrastructure. There are also fears of oil leaks into the Red Sea, raising environmental concerns.

Renewed violence between the U.S. and the Houthis in Yemen has brought a sudden end to the short-lived calm in the Red Sea during the Gaza ceasefire. The end of the truce threatens a dangerous escalation, not just in these waters but in the region writ large.  

After several years of fragile truce, there is a “palpable” fear of a return to all-out war in Yemen, said Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen Hans Grundberg on Thursday, briefing the Security Council. The “current trajectory is deeply concerning,” he told ambassadors, updating them on the latest political developments in the country, where Houthi rebels – formally known as Ansar Allah – have been battling Government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition, for more than a decade.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels freed 153 “conflict-related” prisoners on Saturday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said, as a ceasefire largely holds after years of war. 

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday re-designated Yemen's Houthi movement, known formally as Ansar Allah, as a "foreign terrorist organization," the White House said. The move will impose harsher economic penalties than the Biden administration had applied to the Iran-aligned group in response to its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and against U.S. warships defending the critical maritime chokepoint.

The conflict in Yemen has become increasingly internationalized, with the escalating cycle of strikes and counter-strikes hindering the prospects of peace, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, warning that the improved security conditions for civilians that have existed since the 2022 truce could be lost.

A senior UN official appealed on Monday for an end to the hostilities between Israel and Houthi rebels in Yemen which have taken “an escalatory turn” in recent weeks. 

A series of intense Israeli airstrikes shook Yemen’s rebel-held capital and a port city early Thursday and killed at least nine people, officials said, shortly after a Houthi missile targeted central Israel. Thursday’s strikes risk further escalating conflict with the Iranian-backed Houthis, whose attacks on the Red Sea corridor have drastically impacted global shipping.