Yemen faces highest risk of returning to war since 2022 truce, UN warns
Yemen is now closer to renewed all-out war than it has been at any point since the 2022 truce was struck, a United Nations envoy has warned. Military activity has intensified across Yemen’s frozen front lines in recent days, with attacks causing military and civilian casu…
Intelligence analysis by Llama
The UN special envoy has warned that Yemen is at its highest risk of returning to war since the 2022 truce. Military activity has intensified, with attacks causing casualties, and the envoy has called for de-escalation and a robust ceasefire.
Yemen is a country in the Middle East that has been fighting a war for a long time. The war is getting worse, and many people are dying. The UN is trying to help Yemen by calling for a ceasefire and working towards a lasting agreement to end the war.
Analysis
Yemen's Fragile Peace: A Decade of Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis
Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year that spiralled into a years-long war. The Houthis and the internationally recognised government struck a truce in 2022 that has, until now, largely held. However, progress towards a lasting agreement to end the war stalled in 2023 as tensions in the wider region escalated.
The intensification of fighting in Yemen is worsening the country’s humanitarian crisis. More than half of Yemen’s population does not have reliable access to enough food, with six million people facing “emergency” levels of deprivation that border on famine, the UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, told the UNSC in remarks on Thursday. Women pay a particularly high price for the conflict, with three dying every day due to preventable pregnancy-related complications.
The British government on Thursday blamed the Houthis for the humanitarian crisis and criticised the group’s deadly attacks on international shipping and direct attacks on Saudi Arabia. The UK’s permanent representative at the UN, Sarah MacIntosh, told the UNSC that “reckless Houthi actions have triggered a serious escalation of violence in the region”, urging “the Houthis to focus on efforts to achieve peace and alleviate the suffering of Yemenis, rather than seeking to embroil Yemen in a wider regional conflict”.
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for a drone attack on an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia’s Jazan province, which was the latest in a string of drone, air and missile attacks the two sides have exchanged since the Houthis declared a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea on 20 July. The attack was in response to what the group described as Saudi violations of Yemeni airspace and sovereignty in Saada and Hajjah provinces.
The situation in Yemen is critical, with a deepening humanitarian crisis and the risk of renewed all-out war. The international community must take action to prevent further escalation and work towards a lasting agreement to end the war.
Key points
- Yemen is at its highest risk of returning to war since the 2022 truce.
- Military activity has intensified across Yemen’s frozen front lines in recent days.
- The UN special envoy has called for de-escalation and a robust ceasefire.
- The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is worsening, with more than half of the population lacking reliable access to enough food.
- The Houthis have claimed responsibility for a drone attack on an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia’s Jazan province.
The international community can work together to prevent further escalation and support a lasting agreement to end the war. This could involve providing humanitarian aid and supporting efforts to de-escalate the conflict.
The situation in Yemen is critical, and the risk of renewed all-out war is high. If the conflict continues, it could lead to a deepening humanitarian crisis and further destabilisation of the region.
