Security Council Condemns Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia

The UN Security Council on Thursday condemned an escalation in fighting in Yemen’s Marib, calling for the Houthi militias to end an offensive on the province.

In a statement, the 15-member council “stressed the need for de-escalation by all, including an immediate end to the Houthi escalation in Marib.”

It condemned cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia and said the escalation in Marib “places one million internally-displaced persons at grave risk and threatens efforts to secure a political settlement when the international community is increasingly united to end the conflict.”

The Security Council “expressed concern over the dire economic and humanitarian situation, and emphasized the importance of facilitating humanitarian assistance as well as the movement of fuel ships into Hodeidah port.”

Meanwhile, the Humanitarian Country Team in Yemen released the 2021 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP), appealing for $3.85 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to some 16 million people in need, including 12.1 million people in acute need.

“The toll that more than six years of conflict have taken on the people of Yemen is devastating,” said David Gressly, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen. “People in Yemen need urgent humanitarian assistance to fend off hunger, to access essential health services, to maintain their dignity and resilience and to rebuild their communities.”

 “Yemen is approaching the point of no return. If we make the wrong choice now, Yemen will experience the worst famine the world has seen in decades,” said Gressly. “What the international donor community chooses to do next is vitally important. It is a choice between fully funding the humanitarian operation or doing nothing and watching the country fall deeper into famine.”