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UN Says Yemen Fighting Threatens Vital Bab el-Mandeb Shipping Route
(MENAFN) The UN warned Tuesday that intensifying fighting in Yemen and around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait threatens to further destabilize one of the world's most critical maritime corridors, as Yemen's government pressed the Security Council to take tougher action against the Houthi group.
Briefing an emergency Security Council session, UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said fighting had escalated sharply along Yemen's western coast as Houthi forces advanced toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and claimed to have seized several islands in the southern Red Sea.
While commercial shipping through the Red Sea has so far remained largely unaffected, Khiari said the escalation was compounding market anxiety already elevated by ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. He said Yemen's government had launched a counteroffensive in response to the Houthi advances, with fighting reported across multiple frontlines.
The human cost has been steep. UN humanitarian officials estimate at least 125,000 people have been displaced across Yemen since the start of September, while the UN human rights office has documented 40 civilian casualties, including eight deaths. Khiari said women and children make up half of those killed and more than half of those wounded.
Khiari also pointed to widening regional fallout, citing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and strikes reported to have damaged Saudi energy infrastructure. He called on all parties to protect civilians, uphold international humanitarian law, and allow humanitarian access.
Yemen's UN representative, Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, said the Houthi escalation now poses a threat that reaches far beyond Yemen's borders, endangering regional security, energy supplies and global trade. He urged the Council to formally condemn Houthi attacks, enforce existing arms embargo measures, and back Yemen's government in reclaiming control over its territory, coastline, ports and territorial waters.
Al-Saadi further warned that continued instability around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could create conditions ripe for arms, drug and human trafficking, as well as growing cooperation between militant groups and organized criminal networks.
Khiari stressed the need for restraint and renewed UN-led political engagement, insisting that freedom of navigation through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb must be restored and upheld under international law. He cautioned that prolonged disruption to maritime trade could drive up global costs and threaten energy markets, food security and vulnerable economies — underscoring the urgency of preventing Yemen's conflict from spilling further into regional and international security.
Briefing an emergency Security Council session, UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said fighting had escalated sharply along Yemen's western coast as Houthi forces advanced toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and claimed to have seized several islands in the southern Red Sea.
While commercial shipping through the Red Sea has so far remained largely unaffected, Khiari said the escalation was compounding market anxiety already elevated by ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. He said Yemen's government had launched a counteroffensive in response to the Houthi advances, with fighting reported across multiple frontlines.
The human cost has been steep. UN humanitarian officials estimate at least 125,000 people have been displaced across Yemen since the start of September, while the UN human rights office has documented 40 civilian casualties, including eight deaths. Khiari said women and children make up half of those killed and more than half of those wounded.
Khiari also pointed to widening regional fallout, citing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and strikes reported to have damaged Saudi energy infrastructure. He called on all parties to protect civilians, uphold international humanitarian law, and allow humanitarian access.
Yemen's UN representative, Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, said the Houthi escalation now poses a threat that reaches far beyond Yemen's borders, endangering regional security, energy supplies and global trade. He urged the Council to formally condemn Houthi attacks, enforce existing arms embargo measures, and back Yemen's government in reclaiming control over its territory, coastline, ports and territorial waters.
Al-Saadi further warned that continued instability around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could create conditions ripe for arms, drug and human trafficking, as well as growing cooperation between militant groups and organized criminal networks.
Khiari stressed the need for restraint and renewed UN-led political engagement, insisting that freedom of navigation through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb must be restored and upheld under international law. He cautioned that prolonged disruption to maritime trade could drive up global costs and threaten energy markets, food security and vulnerable economies — underscoring the urgency of preventing Yemen's conflict from spilling further into regional and international security.
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