UN Envoy: Houthi Attacks Threaten Regional Security

Sanaa, Yemen (ANTARA) – UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg on Sunday (11 October) condemned continuing Houthi attacks on civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, warning that the escalation threatens regional security and further complicates efforts to achieve peace in Yemen, Xinhua News Agency reported.

In a statement posted on the social media platform X, Grundberg cited an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday (10 October), which Saudi authorities said killed 12 people and injured more than 300.

The UN envoy said the attack followed earlier strikes this week on airports in Riyadh and the city of Abha in southwestern Saudi Arabia, which also killed and injured civilians.

“These attacks mark a serious escalation,” Grundberg said, adding that such actions “pose a serious threat to regional security, prolong the cycle of violence and further complicate peace efforts for Yemen”.

Grundberg renewed his call for the Houthis to halt the attacks and stressed the importance of respecting international humanitarian law, including the prohibition on directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects.

His statement came amid intensifying military confrontations on both sides of the Yemen-Saudi border. A military source told Xinhua on Sunday that air strikes on Houthi-controlled areas had intensified, with heavy attacks targeting several areas in Taiz province in southwestern Yemen and elsewhere across the country.

Meanwhile, fighting has intensified in southwestern Yemen, particularly near the strategically important Bab al-Mandab Strait, where Yemeni government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, continue to battle Houthi forces.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthi group took control of the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country’s north. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to support the internationally recognised government, now based in the southern port city of Aden.