7 hours agoUN envoy meets with Houthi negotiators following ‘dramatic’ escalation from Iran-backed terror group
The United Nations envoy for Yemen said Tuesday that he met with negotiators from the Iran-backed Houthis following what he described as a “unprecedented” and “dramatic” escalation by the terrorist group in the Middle East.
Hans Grundberg told The Associated Press that his meeting in Oman over the weekend with the Houthis’ chief negotiator, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, aimed to explore “if there are ways of how to avoid seeing the current escalation go even further.”
The Houthis, in recent weeks, have been launching attacks against Saudi Arabia and gaining territory in Yemen along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Grundberg said the instability in the region, and the “influence of regional parties, including Iran, and also other neighbors to Yemen” has impacted the course of the Yemen conflict.
Grundberg said the current escalation in Yemen has become more complicated compared to previous bouts of violence over the course of the civil war. He said battle lines have shifted to the Red Sea coast, where “the most sensitive front lines” are threatening maritime corridors crucial for global trade.
“We’ve seen attacks also on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, and it’s a development that is alarming and that should be a concern for the Security Council,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this post.