Yemen rivals threaten to resume war as hunger and cholera worsen in the poor nation, UN envoy warns
UNITED NATIONS — Rival sides in Yemen are making military preparations and threatening to go to war again as hunger and cholera rise in the Arab world’s poorest country, UN officials said Thursday.
UN Special Representative Hans Grundberg told the Security Council that despite serious efforts to protect Yemen, the country has become embroiled in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with Houthi rebels continuing to attack their forces. attack ships in the Red Sea and the United States and United Kingdom responded with strikes on military targets in Houthis-controlled areas.
“This situation, which has been going on for more than eight months now, is not sustainable,” Grundberg said. “Unfortunately, this regressive trend, illustrated by continued military activity and escalating rhetoric, has continued.”
Yemen is embroiled in a civil war since 2014when the Iran-backed Houthis seized much of northern Yemen and forced the internationally recognized government to flee the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year in support of government forces, and over time the conflict turned into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
While fighting has eased significantly since the six-month ceasefire in 2022, Grundberg expressed deep concern about developments in Yemen in recent months.
“We continue to witness military preparations and reinforcements, accompanied by continued threats of a return to war,” he said, referring to reports of clashes in half a dozen towns and villages.
“Once again,” Grundberg said, “this is a stark reminder of how volatile the situation is along the Yemeni front lines.”
He also pointed to the rebels’ capture of dozens of Yemenis working for the UN, civil society, national and international organizations, diplomatic missions and the private sector, and the closure of the UN Human Rights Office in Sanaa, followed by Houthi security forces storm office August 3rd.
Grundberg called it an “ominous signal” of the broader direction the Houthis are taking and said it was a “serious attack” on the UN’s ability to work in Yemen.
Grundberg and Lisa Doughten, the chief financial officer of the UN humanitarian office, demanded that the Houthis immediately release all prisoners.
Doughten told the council that a lack of funding is undermining efforts to address critical needs across Yemen, where food security is deteriorating and an initial estimate of 60,000 suspected cholera cases between April and September grew to more than 147,000 by early August.
Current funding can address only a quarter of cholera cases, and UN health experts warn that without immediate new money, “the number of suspected cases could increase further, potentially reaching more than 250,000 within weeks,” she said.
On hunger, Doughten said 60% of Yemenis surveyed did not have enough food, and the rate of severe food deprivation in Houthi-controlled areas more than doubled – from 17% to 36% – compared to last year.
She said that rising food insecurity is not just a problem of hunger.
“Today, an alarming 30 percent of girls in Yemen are forced into marriage before they turn 18 as families struggle to provide for them,” Doughten said. “And the number of children out of school — currently a staggering 4.5 million — is likely to rise as more children are forced out of school to provide for their families.”