UN envoy warns Yemen has returned to 'full-scale war,' urges political settlement

Yemen has returned to "full-scale war" as fighting spreads across multiple fronts, with civilians bearing the brunt of escalating violence, UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg warned Friday.

Briefing the UN Security Council, Grundberg said hostilities have intensified in recent weeks following advances by Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, toward Mokha and the coast along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

He condemned Houthi attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including recent strikes on Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that killed and injured civilians.

"I echo the Secretary-General's condemnation, and repeat my call on Ansar Allah to cease these attacks," Grundberg told the council.

Civilians 'bearing the brunt of escalating violence'

Grundberg warned that civilians, particularly women and children, were again suffering the consequences of intensifying conflict amid severe economic hardship.

"While the situation in Yemen remains highly fluid, one fact is clear: civilians, especially women and children, are once again bearing the brunt of escalating violence," he said.

Grundberg cited the International Monetary Fund's ranking of Yemen as the world's poorest country.

He urged all parties to comply with international humanitarian law, including requirements to distinguish between civilians and combatants, avoid disproportionate harm and take all feasible precautions to protect civilians.

He stressed that children were entitled to special protection and that their recruitment and use in armed conflict were prohibited.

Grundberg also called for the protection of medical facilities, humanitarian personnel and operations, and people no longer participating in hostilities.

The envoy warned that Houthi threats against Saudi-linked commercial vessels in the Red Sea undermined freedom of navigation.

He said the threats were becoming increasingly intertwined with disputes over maritime trade routes and pressures on international energy markets.

Grundberg acknowledged that regional security, freedom of navigation and international trade were legitimate concerns.

However, he stressed that international efforts must also reflect conditions inside Yemen and the needs and aspirations of its people.

He warned that shifting military calculations were influencing the parties' assessments of when and how to pursue negotiations.

Call for political process

Grundberg said military pressure could strengthen negotiating leverage but stressed that military action and diplomacy were not mutually exclusive.

"Ultimately, gains on the battlefield cannot substitute for the negotiations that will be required to settle the conflict," he said.

As mediator, Grundberg said his responsibility was to create space for a Yemeni-led political settlement.

He stressed that the parties owed a political solution to approximately 40 million Yemenis who had endured more than a decade of conflict.

"Unless war is to become Yemen's permanent reality, the time to consider political strategies is now," he said.

The envoy also expressed concern about the continued detention of UN personnel and staff from nongovernmental organizations, civil society groups and diplomatic missions.

He called for urgent action and continued Security Council support.

"Without a credible political process that sustainably resolves the conflict, it will continue to resurface, deepen regional tensions, and threaten broader stability," Grundberg warned.

He urged Security Council members to maintain unity, sustain their attention on Yemen and collectively support mediation efforts to end the conflict.