The United States government’s decision to designate Ansar Allah, more commonly known as the Houthi rebel group in Yemen, as terrorists, is likely to have “serious humanitarian and political repercussions”, the UN spokesperson said on Monday.
The UN Special Envoy for Yemen told an emergency session of the Security Council on Tuesday that a recent upsurge in violence between pro-Government and rebel forces following weeks of relative calm, had to end “before it’s too late”.
There are “small signs” of hope for Yemeni civilians caught up in fighting, following a reduction in violence, coupled with a 20 per cent increase in funding for the UN’s humanitarian response, the Security Council heard on Thursday.
The UN Secretary-General appealed on Sunday for “maximum restraint" following a wave of drone attacks claimed by Houthi rebels in Yemen, against two Saudi Arabian-based petroleum processing facilities, which threaten to disrupt global oil supplies.
The World Food Programme (WFP), the UN’s emergency food relief agency, confirmed on Friday in a statement that it has started a "partial suspension" of aid to areas of Yemen controlled by Houthi opposition forces, including the capital, Sana’a.
The suffering of millions of children across Yemen has become “invisible to the rest of the world” according to UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative in the war-ravaged country.
