UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg expressed on Monday his deep concern over the recent attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis on Mokha city, which reportedly resulted in civilian and military casualties and caused damage to infrastructure, including at the port.
In a statement on the X platform, he said: “These attacks come amid the most significant intensification of military activity since the 2022 UN-brokered truce, sharply increasing the risk of a return to full-scale conflict in Yemen.”
The recent Houthi attacks “have also put civilians at grave risk in Mokha, Marib, and beyond.”
“This escalation must stop, and civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected,” he demanded.
“I call on the parties to exercise maximum restraint, and to work with my Office on concrete steps to de-escalate and prevent the further erosion of what the truce achieved for Yemeni civilians,” Grundberg said.
“This conflict can only end sustainably through an inclusive political process, and escalation is taking Yemen in the opposite direction,” he warned.
The envoy made his warning in wake of a series of attacks targeting the government-held city of Mokha and its port on the western coast of Yemen.
Yemeni military sources said that civilians and military personnel were killed and injured in the Houthi missile and drone attacks, while the strikes hit residential areas and civilian installations.
According to field reports, attacks on Mokha renewed on Monday.
Mokha is strategic for its location on the west coast and proximity to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world's most important waterways. An attack against it is not only a threat against Yemen, but one against a critical international waterway.
