UN Yemen envoy warns of a ‘devastating’ regional escalation
Al Jazeera
Hans Grundberg says recent developments suggest ‘threat against international shipping is increasing in scope’.
The UN envoy for Yemen has said that recent developments in the Red Sea, Israel and inside the country “show the real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation”.
In a briefing to the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Yemen on Tuesday, Hans Grundberg warned of the danger of an escalation following new Houthi attacks on commercial shipping and the first confirmed Israeli air strikes on Yemen in retaliation for Houthi drone and missile attacks on Israel.
“I remain deeply concerned about the continued targeting of international navigation in the Red Sea and its surrounding waterways,” Grundberg said.
“Recent developments suggest that the threat against international shipping is increasing in scope and precision.”
The Houthi attacks on Israel and the Israeli strikes on Yemen’s port of Hodeidah and its oil and power facilities represent “a new and dangerous level” of violence, he said.
