Yemen

Military escalation in Yemen has forced tens of thousands of families to leave their areas, with displacement concentrated in Taiz, Lahj, Aden, Abyan and Hudaydah, while more than 3,000 people have reached Djibouti. UNICEF says the fighting has caused child casualties and disrupted schools and health facilities, amid rising acute malnutrition.

Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi called for general mobilisation and urged people to join the armed forces and security services through official channels, announcing an opportunity to return for those who leave the Houthi group. He said those covered by the initiative would receive a comprehensive amnesty to be issued later in accordance with legal and constitutional procedures, alongside the regularisation of the status of army and security personnel.

The Ash-Shuqab front in Mount Saber, Taiz governorate, is seeing military movements and preparations amid fears of a new escalation between government forces and the Houthi group. Near the front lines, residents of Kahlan and Ash-Shuqab face a rough road that hampers the evacuation of patients and the transport of food, forcing them to fund its construction and repairs themselves.

Yemen’s Taiz governorate received more than 83,000 displaced people from over 11,000 families during September, amid deteriorating water, electricity and housing services and rising living costs. A local official called on international and regional organisations to provide shelter, food, medicine and education for the new arrivals.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan discussed convening an urgent meeting of the three countries’ chiefs of staff to consider supporting the Kingdom under the Makkah Agreement on joint defence, after the Houthis announced missile and drone attacks and Saudi authorities said they had intercepted six ballistic missiles.

Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan called on soldiers stationed along the kingdom’s borders to be prepared to sacrifice themselves in confronting the Houthis, stressing that restoring the internationally recognised Yemeni government’s authority over the entire country was among the most obligatory duties, amid a mutual military escalation.

Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan are preparing to hold an urgent meeting of their chiefs of staff to discuss supporting the kingdom under the Mecca Agreement for Joint Defence, following a wave of Houthi attacks. The announcement came after trilateral ministerial consultations in New York on mechanisms for implementing the agreement and strengthening defence coordination among its signatories.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris and Riyadh had agreed to deploy troops, radars and defence systems to protect energy facilities in Yanbu on the Red Sea. He said the mission was defensive and was not intended to involve France in the conflict, following Houthi attacks that affected a key alternative route for Saudi oil exports.

The Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted six ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group towards Taif and Yanbu, vowing to deal firmly with the escalation. The group, meanwhile, said it had carried out missile and drone attacks targeting a sensitive site in Riyadh and Aramco facilities in Yanbu.

The Houthis said they had carried out two operations targeting what they described as sensitive sites in Riyadh and Aramco facilities in Yanbu, using ballistic and cruise missiles and drones. Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition announced that it had intercepted a missile heading towards the capital and foiled attempts to target other cities, including Yanbu.

Fighting continues in Taiz, Lahj and Marib, with government forces announcing that they had shot down a drone and thwarted an infiltration attempt near the Hijej al-Abd road. The escalation coincided with civilian deaths in Lahj and Shabwah, while the number of displaced people exceeded 134,000. The United Nations called for civilians to be protected and aid access to be facilitated.

In September, Marib received 412 families comprising 2,954 people who fled the military escalation on the western coast and elsewhere, amid shortages of shelter and declining aid. Women and children make up 78% of new arrivals in the governorate, which has cumulatively hosted more than 2,217,000 displaced people since 2014.

Iraqi sources reported an intensive security and political presence by the Houthi movement in Iraq, coordinated with Iraqi factions and Lebanese Hezbollah. They said the group uses joint security headquarters in Jurf al-Sakhar, while Haji Hamed, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official in charge of the Iraqi file, organises this presence.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees expects the number of people displaced within Yemen to rise from 130,000 to around 230,000 in the coming months, amid renewed fighting between government forces and the Houthis, while the number of refugees travelling by sea across the Red Sea to Djibouti is expected to increase to 10,000.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the Aspides mission to protect shipping in the Red Sea needs more than 10 warships, while it currently has six, amid escalating threats and growing complexities facing shipping in the region.

G7 foreign ministers called on Tehran to stop arming and supporting the Houthi group in Yemen, warning of the repercussions of escalation for the conflict, international trade and energy security. They also called on the Houthis to halt military actions and attacks on civilian vessels and return in good faith to the political process.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the Aspides naval mission needs more than 10 warships amid the deteriorating security situation in the Red Sea, stressing that the forces currently deployed are insufficient. Kallas had asked member states to reinforce the mission with additional naval and air assets.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said his government had approved a Saudi request for defensive support through in-flight refuelling, with a Voyager aircraft due to be deployed in the coming days. He said the mission would be time-limited and subject to review, amid escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and threats to regional energy supply routes and navigation.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher warned that Yemen is nearing famine amid a rapid rise in humanitarian needs and worsening hunger levels. The warning comes as tens of thousands have been displaced and more than 2,000 Yemenis have crossed into Djibouti, while escalating clashes and a fuel crisis hinder civilian movement.

Fighting has intensified in the highlands stretching between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean coasts, as the Houthis seek to seize the area and Saudi air raids fail to drive the fighters out. Meanwhile, the group said it had attacked Riyadh for the first time since the escalation began, while The New York Times reported that Donald Trump cancelled air strikes that were being prepared.

Dozens of Yemenis held a protest outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague, demanding that the Houthis be designated a terrorist organisation and calling for support for Yemen’s internationally recognised government. The protest came amid escalating clashes since July and government warnings that international shipping faces a threat after the Houthis advanced towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The 12th anniversary of the Houthis’ takeover of Sana’a coincides with a military escalation along the western coast and in al-Bayda, al-Jawf and Ma’rib, as government officials speak of plans to advance towards the capital. The clashes follow four years of relative calm, amid changes to the map of control and the extension of attacks to Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure and ships, stressing the need to protect freedom of navigation and uphold international law in maritime passages. He also discussed the Gaza peace plan and the two-state solution, progress in Syria’s transitional phase, and the role of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon.

The Yemeni Armed Forces said air strikes on Sunday targeted Houthi personnel and equipment in Al Bayda governorate, destroying missile launchers, a communications system and weapons stores. The strikes came amid escalating fighting and government warnings of a threat to international shipping near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.