UN Special Envoy for Yemen for Yemen Hans Grundberg arrived in Houthi-held Sanaa on Monday as part of his efforts to urge the Iran-backed militias to accept peace and release employees from the UN and humanitarian agencies.
Grundberg's “visit is part of the ongoing efforts to de-escalate the current tensions that have engulfed the region and Yemen,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Monday. “In addition, his efforts will focus on advancing the peace process.”
The Houthis have stepped up their missile attacks against Israel, and have been targeting shipping in the Red Sea corridor for over a year — attacks they say won't stop until there's a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly bombarded Yemen's ports, oil infrastructure and the airport in Sanaa, some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) away.
“We’ll also be pushing for the release of the arbitrarily detained UN personnel and also from other NGOs and civil society,” the UN spokesman said.
The Houthis claim the detainees, most of them held since June, are part of an “American-Israeli spy network,” an allegation vehemently denied by the UN, NGO organizations, governments and others.
Grundberg arrived in Yemen after holding talks with Omani officials in Muscat. Present at the talks was Houthi spokesman and chief negotiator Mohammed Abdelsalam.
The envoy is hoping to make a breakthrough in the Yemeni crisis after his efforts stalled with the Houthis launching their attacks on Red Sea and Gulf of Aden shipping.
A statement from his office said he is hoping his meetings in Sanaa will lead to the Houthis to take tangible steps to push the peace process forward.
“His visit is part of his ongoing efforts to urge for concrete and essential actions by the Houthis for advancing the peace process. It is also part of his continuing efforts to support the release of the arbitrarily detained UN, NGO, civil society and diplomatic mission personnel,” said the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen (OSESGY) on the X platform.
He plans to conduct a series of national and regional meetings in the coming days under his mediation efforts.
