UN Security Council Demands an End to Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia
Council members call for cooperation with Yemen’s legitimate government to prevent the group from obtaining weapons and military assistance needed to launch further attacks.
The United Nations Security Council has demanded an end to Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia and called for cooperation to prevent the group from obtaining weapons and assistance linked to military activities needed to carry out further attacks. The position was outlined in a statement by Council President Evangelos Sekeris, reported by UN News on Friday, as military escalation continued in Yemen.
Council members stressed the importance of fully implementing Resolution 2216 of 2015 and subsequent resolutions. They called for practical cooperation, including with the Yemeni government, to prevent weapons and related materiel from reaching the Tehran-backed group.
Resolution 2216 demands that the Houthis immediately and unconditionally cease using violence, withdraw from areas they have seized, including Sanaa, and relinquish weapons taken from military and security institutions. It also requires them to stop exercising powers belonging to Yemen’s internationally recognised government and to facilitate humanitarian and medical assistance to civilians.
The Council’s statement also called for measures to prevent the group from receiving technical assistance, training, financing or other support related to military activities needed to launch further attacks.
The Council condemned the Houthis’ continuing and escalating attacks against Saudi Arabia, including strikes on civil aviation and energy infrastructure that have killed and injured civilians.
The statement specifically cited the “reckless strikes targeting King Khalid International Airport” on October 10 and 11, which killed 13 people and injured more than 300, as well as strikes on other airports and Saudi Aramco facilities.
Council members expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia in the face of attacks on civilians and civilian objects within its territory. They affirmed its inherent right to self-defence in accordance with international law.
They demanded that the Houthis immediately halt their military escalation and attacks on civilians and civilian objects. They also reiterated their condemnation in the strongest terms of the group’s continuing attacks and threats against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, stressing the importance of protecting merchant vessels and their crews.
They expressed sympathy and condolences to the victims’ families and to the Saudi government and people, and wished those injured a swift and full recovery.
Council members reaffirmed their support for the Yemeni government and their commitment to Yemen’s unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. They stressed that sustainable peace in the country could not be achieved through violence, coercion or the use of force.
They renewed their support for the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, and his efforts to achieve a comprehensive, Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned political settlement through negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Houthis intensified their attacks over the preceding hours. Government forces announced that they had targeted the group’s commanders, reinforcements and positions as part of Operation “Yemen Dawn”, while the coalition said it had intercepted a drone heading towards Saudi Arabia.
In a statement posted on X on Friday, Yemeni army spokesman Majed al-Nuzaili said government forces had “carried out precision strikes as part of Operation Yemen Dawn, targeting field commanders, reinforcements, military assets and positions belonging to the terrorist Houthi militia”.
He added that the operations aimed to “dismantle the Houthis’ offensive capabilities and eliminate sources of threat in accordance with the operational plan”. Al-Nuzaili also posted a video that he said showed strikes against Houthi fighters and equipment.
On Thursday evening, he had announced that “more than 1,250 precision strikes had been carried out over the preceding twenty-four hours against Houthi military positions and capabilities”. He said preliminary battlefield assessments indicated that “around 700 members of the group had been neutralised, and more than 150 vehicles and other assets used for combat, transport and resupply had been destroyed or disabled”.
