UN envoy meets Houthi negotiators in a bid to halt escalating violence in Yemen

CAIRO (AP) — The U.N. envoy for Yemen said Tuesday he met with Houthi negotiators over the weekend in efforts to avert further escalation in Yemen amid fierce battles on the country’s western coast between the Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi-supported, but fragmented, government forces.

The renewed violence, which has killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands, is the latest twist in Yemen’s conflict, which began in 2014 when the Iran-backed rebels took over the capital, Sanaa, forcing the country’s government to settle into exile in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom entered the war a year later with a multinational coalition.

In an interview with The Associated Press in Cairo, Hans Grundberg said his meeting in Muscat 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.”

He also held talks in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with the internationally recognized government and regional powers, including Saudi Arabia, which has been the main target of the Houthis’ latest escalation that he described as “unprecedented” and “dramatic.”

Grundberg said the instability in the region, and the “influence of regional parties, including Iran, and also other neighbors to Yemen” has also impacted the course of the Yemen conflict.

Aided by Iranian experts, the Houthis stormed down the Red Sea coast earlier in September, capturing the strategic city of Mokha and a number of Red Sea islands, extending their reach to the key maritime waterway of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It was the Houthis’ biggest land grab in years, and ended a 2022 ceasefire that largely stopped major fighting in Yemen’s 12-year civil war.

The rebels have also intensified their attacks across the border into Saudi Arabia, attacking its oil facilities and preventing its tankers from passing through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, through which around 12% of global trade passes.

The rebel assault and the fighting with Saudi-backed Yemeni and allied forces killed at least 838 and wounded over 3,640 others, according to the U.N. The flare-up forced over 145,000 people to flee their homes inside Yemen, according to the U.N. migration agency. More than 3,000 others fled across the waters into Djibouti, the agency reported.

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.

He also said the Yemen conflict has become increasingly connected to the latest wave of wars in the Middle East, which began with the Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, and most recently the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

The conflict has also turned into a regional proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, with the United States long involved on the periphery, providing intelligence assistance to the kingdom. However, international criticism over Saudi airstrikes killing civilians saw the U.S. pull back its support.

“The current situation is going to be challenging to resolve,” he said, adding that the warring parties and their supporters “are currently trying to assess” the consequences of the escalation.

“There’s a lot of dust in the air that needs to settle before they can make their own assessment on what the best alternative for the way forward is, whether it is on the battlefield or whether it’s around the negotiation table,” he said.

The UN envoy said the Yemen war needs to be separated from other conflicts in the region to help find a settlement ”defined by Yemenis.″

“My recommendation at this point is to make sure that you disentangle these conflicts and you address them one by one effectively and efficiently through negotiations.”