UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. special envoy for Yemen warned Tuesday the “increasingly dire” military situation in the Arab world's poorest country is putting U.N. efforts to end the five-year conflict at “great risk” and causing dozens, and perhaps hundreds, of civilian casualties. Martin Griffiths told the U.N. Security Council that the U.S.-backed Arab coalition battling to restore Yemen’s internationally recognized government and Houthi Shiite rebels “have announced expansive military goals and exchanged fierce rhetoric.”Hostilities have escalated significantly along several fronts, including some which had been quiet for months, and reported airstrikes and cross-border aerial attacks “have increased considerably,” he said in a video briefing from Geneva. Griffiths also warned that the escalating military action could threaten the main port of Hodeida, which handles about 70% of Yemen’s commercial and humanitarian imports. A December 2018 agreement led to the reopening of the port and the initial redeployment of rival forces but Griffiths said the situation in Hodeida today “is vulnerable to an increase in violence.”

Source: International New York Times February 18, 2020 18:45 UTC