The UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said the Houthis had taken control of the western coastal city of Mokha following a large-scale offensive. He warned that continued fighting near the Bab al-Mandab Strait threatens freedom of navigation and could draw Yemen into a wider regional confrontation.
In his briefing to the Security Council on September 10, 2026, Grundberg said fighting had intensified on several fronts over the preceding 24 hours, particularly along the western coast. He said Mokha, which has a port and lies about 75 kilometres from Bab al-Mandab, was under Houthi control at the time of his briefing. He stressed, however, that fighting was continuing and the situation on the ground could change at any moment.
Grundberg said the Houthis had launched large-scale attacks in Taiz and Hodeidah in early September, leading to clashes with government forces before the fighting spread to Marib, Al Jawf and Al Bayda. He cited reports of civilian deaths in several areas, including children killed when displacement sites in Marib were shelled, and of shelters being destroyed there.
Citing humanitarian actors, the UN envoy said more than 11,400 families had reportedly been newly displaced since September 3, most of them in Taiz and southern Hodeidah. Ongoing fighting, he added, was driving further displacement. He also said the Houthis had attacked civilian and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, injuring dozens of civilians.
Grundberg called on the Houthis to halt their attacks inside Yemen and across the border into Saudi Arabia, and to stop attacking and threatening commercial vessels. He described the escalation as the effective end of more than four years of relative calm since the 2022 truce.
The envoy urged the parties to keep communication channels open during hostilities, including through the Military Coordination Committee, to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians, and to preserve a path towards a political settlement. He said he would continue working with the Yemeni government and the Houthis, alongside regional actors, to identify ways to de-escalate, while stressing that decisions on any eventual agreement belong to Yemenis.
Grundberg called on the Security Council to remain united and engaged on Yemen, warning that the consequences of this new phase, if left unchecked, would extend beyond the country’s borders.
