US Official to Asharq Al-Awsat: Red Sea Attacks Threaten Peace in Yemen, Don’t Help Gaza

Protesters are seen at a Houthi rally in Sanaa. (AFP)
Protesters are seen at a Houthi rally in Sanaa. (AFP)
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US Official to Asharq Al-Awsat: Red Sea Attacks Threaten Peace in Yemen, Don’t Help Gaza

Protesters are seen at a Houthi rally in Sanaa. (AFP)
Protesters are seen at a Houthi rally in Sanaa. (AFP)

A senior US official said the attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen against vessels in the Red Sea do not help the people in Gaza.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he urged Yemeni parties to prioritize the needs of the people and avoid dragging their country into a broader regional conflict through such escalatory behavior.

He added that the attacks on shipping vessel violate international law and threaten stability in Yemen. They also threaten peace in the war-torn country and efforts made over the past two years to resolve the conflict.

Asharq Al-Awsat was asking officials and researchers about the impact the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea may have on peace in Yemen, especially in wake of the UN recently announcing an agreement that was reached between the warring parties on a roadmap for peace.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday that the attacks in the Red Sea will not affect the situation in Yemen, stressing they were solely aimed against Israel.

In an interview to Asharq Al-Awsat last week, United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said: “The Secretary-General and competent United Nations entities are closely following the reports regarding attacks against vessels in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.”

“The United Nations has repeatedly stressed the importance of ensuring respect to international law in full regarding maritime navigation and emphasized the need to guarantee freedom of navigation,” he added.

“The Secretary-General additionally warned against the risk of the spillover of the violence in the occupied territories and stressed the urgent need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to end the unfolding tragedy in Gaza. Here I would also like to join the voice of the Secretary-General in sounding the alarm regarding the risk of an expansion of the violence and threatening the safety and security of the region,” the envoy stated.

“My focus remains on Yemen and Yemen deserves a chance at peace. However, in order to achieve this, we will need an environment that remains conducive for sustaining constructive dialogue around the future of Yemen,” he stressed.

Commenting on the attacks, Baraa Shiban, of the Royal United Services Institute, warned of a new situation emerging in Yemen, which he compared to “the Hezbollah problem and its relationship to the Lebanese state.”

He explained that the Houthis believe they can take decisions related to Red Sea security and Yemen’s foreign policy without the agreement of other Yemeni parties.

Foreign policy is set by the state, not one party, he stressed. Policy must enjoy national consensus and be in line with Yemen’s regional and international commitments.

The Houthis have stepped up attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea in protest against Israel's war in Gaza. Various shipping lines have suspended operations, instead taking the longer journey around Africa.

In retaliation, Washington launched Operation Prosperity Guardian, which is a naval coalition – comprised of 22 countries so far – to deter the Houthi attacks.

A drone launched from Yemen was shot down in self-defense by a US ship in the southern Red Sea on Saturday in the vicinity of several commercial vessels, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.



UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)

UN officials on Monday asked for $6 billion for Sudan this year from donors to help ease what they called the world's worst ever hunger catastrophe and the mass displacement of people brought on by civil war.

The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40% from last year's for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.

The UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population - looks set to worsen.

World Food Program chief Cindy McCain, speaking via video to a room full of diplomats in Geneva, said: "Sudan is now the epicenter of the world's largest and most severe hunger crisis ever."

She did not provide figures, but Sudan's total population currently stands at about 48 million people. Among previous world famines, the Bengal Famine of 1943 claimed between 2 million and 3 million lives, according to several estimates, while millions are believed to have died in the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61.

Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, a UN statement said, and this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.

"This is a humanitarian crisis that is truly unprecedented in its scale and its gravity and it demands a response unprecedented in scale and intent," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said.

One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.

While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.

The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion - the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.