The UN Security Council has warned of the consequences of the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the threats posed to international navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The Council considered that the militia's military actions in Yemen, alongside its targeting of Saudi territory and commercial shipping, threaten to expand the regional conflict, undermine maritime security and international trade, and hinder regional and international efforts aimed at achieving peace in Yemen.
In a statement issued on Friday night, Council members expressed solidarity with the Kingdom in confronting assaults targeting civilians and civilian objects, affirming Saudi Arabia's inherent right to self-defense in accordance with international law.
The members called on the Houthi militia to immediately halt its military escalation and attacks affecting civilians, stressing the importance of the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2216 of 2015 and subsequent relevant resolutions.
Reiterating support for the Yemeni government, the Council emphasized its commitment to Yemen's unity, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
Also, Council members denounced missile strikes directed at the Kingdom alongside attacks and threats against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
They stressed the critical need to safeguard commercial vessels and crew members while upholding international navigational freedoms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Council members affirmed that the Houthi strikes on Saudi territory, threats to shipping in the Red Sea and advances near the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, risked “further expanding the conflict, threatening maritime security and international trade, and undermining regional and international efforts to secure peace in Yemen.”
The Council also backed Riyadh directly, affirming “the inherent right of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to self-defense in accordance with international law” and expressing solidarity with the Kingdom “in the face of attacks impacting civilians and civilian objects on its territory.”
The Council members demanded that the Houthis immediately cease their attacks affecting civilians and civilian objects, expressing their grave concern over reports regarding the killing and injuring of civilians, as well as the destruction of civilian objects and infrastructure resulting from these attacks.
Members also expressed grave concern about reports of civilians killed and injured and noted that at least 125,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since the start of September, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
They warned that further escalation would worsen the country's dire humanitarian situation.
The members called for full, safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access and demanded the unconditional release of detainees, including 73 UN personnel and staff of NGOs, civil society groups and diplomatic missions.
The Council reaffirmed backing for UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg's efforts to broker a comprehensive political settlement guided by agreed references and relevant Security Council resolutions, and urged the Yemeni parties to engage constructively with UN efforts.
