UN warns Yemen escalation will make path to peace even harder

The United Nations mission in Yemen has warned that a renewed escalation between Houthi rebels and the internationally recognized government could push the country even further from peace.

A return to sustained, large-scale fighting would have “serious consequences for civilians” and make an already difficult political path “even harder,” the mission said in a statement. It accused the Houthis of launching attacks on several fronts, triggering intense clashes.

The UN described reports of civilian deaths, displaced families and damage to civilian infrastructure as “extremely alarming.” Yemen has already endured more than a decade of conflict, while its territory remains divided in practice between rival authorities.

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A return to sustained, large-scale fighting will have serious consequences for civilians and make the already difficult path toward a political solution even harder.

The mission said Yemenis want security, functioning public institutions and a future beyond war. It argued that those demands require “a credible political process capable of addressing the political, security and economic issues at the root of the conflict.”

The violence resumed in mid-July, when the Yemeni army bombed Sanaa International Airport, in the Houthi-controlled capital, to prevent an Iranian aircraft carrying a rebel delegation from landing. The Houthis blamed Saudi Arabia, which has intervened in Yemen since 2015 at the head of a military coalition supporting the government, and then launched cross-border attacks against the Saudi monarchy as well as strikes on government forces across Yemen. The UN urged the Houthis and government forces to stop fighting and use every channel to prevent further escalation.

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a credible political process capable of addressing the political, security and economic issues at the root of the conflict