Yemen’s UN envoy Abdullah al-Saadi discusses Houthi escalation with French counterpart
Yemen Herald News 
NEW YORK — Yemen’s ambassador to the United Nations discussed the Houthi escalation and threats to Red Sea shipping with his French counterpart, Yemen’s mission said.
Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi, permanent representative of the Republic of Yemen to the United Nations, held the talks in New York. The mission reported them on Saturday.
Al-Saadi briefed the French envoy on recent developments on the ground, according to the account. He set out Houthi attacks on civilian infrastructure, government institutions and shipping routes in the region.
He said the continued escalation threatens efforts to reach peace. He said it worsens the humanitarian situation and weakens stability across the wider region.
Al-Saadi asked for stronger international action to deter the attacks. He called for compliance with United Nations resolutions on Yemen.
He also asked for continued support for the internationally recognised government, the mission said.
The French representative reaffirmed France’s support for Yemen’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, according to the same account. He raised concern about maritime traffic through strategic waterways.
The account of the meeting rests on Yemen’s permanent mission to the United Nations. No independent confirmation has been published, and France’s mission has not issued its own account of the talks.
The mission did not name the French envoy. It did not say whether other officials attended.
The Houthi movement rejects the government’s characterisation of its operations. It describes its strikes as responses to the Saudi-led coalition’s campaign in Yemen.
France set out its position on the war at the Security Council on 13 August. Jay Dharmadhikari, France’s deputy permanent representative, condemned the Houthi escalation “in the strongest terms” and expressed solidarity with Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Dharmadhikari condemned the resumption of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. He named a strike on the cargo vessel Tihamah on 11 August, which killed several crew members.
The attacks undermine freedom of navigation and maritime safety, he said. He said France would continue to secure the route through the European naval mission Aspides, in what he called a “strictly defensive posture.”
He said an Iranian aircraft landed in Sanaa on 3 July without authorisation from the legitimate authorities. He said Iran is fuelling the crisis through its support for the Houthis and is not meeting its obligations under the arms embargo.
Iran has denied arming the Houthis.
France cited Security Council Resolution 2722, which demands respect for freedom of navigation and maritime safety. It cited Resolution 2216, which establishes the arms embargo.
Resolution 2216 was adopted in 2015. Resolution 2722 was adopted in January 2024, after attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
France also cited Resolution 2730 over the detention of United Nations, non-governmental and diplomatic personnel.
Resolution 2730 was adopted in 2024 and addresses attacks on humanitarian and United Nations personnel. France’s statement linked it to the Houthis’ detention of such staff.
France said those detentions and the attacks on humanitarian workers breach international humanitarian law.
Hans Grundberg, the United Nations special envoy for Yemen, told the Security Council on 9 October that the country had returned to full-scale war. He urged the parties to return to dialogue.
Grundberg also pressed for unfettered humanitarian access, according to the record of that session.
Fighting resumed in July. A truce agreed in 2022 had largely held until then.
The Houthis took control of stretches of Yemen’s Red Sea coast in September, according to reporting on the campaign.
The Saudi-led coalition said on 24 October that it intercepted two Houthi missiles aimed at Taif and Yanbu. Saudi civil defence issued danger warnings for several western regions and withdrew them minutes later.
The Houthis said the same day that they had struck Saudi oil installations. They also said they attacked military sites in Aden.
Houthi-run media reported coalition air strikes on areas under Houthi control on 24 October. The coalition did not comment on those reports.
Reporting on the campaign put the death toll from an attack on Riyadh airport earlier in October at 13.
Yemen’s interior ministry said three ballistic missiles hit coast guard facilities in Aden that day. The transport ministry called it the fourth attack on the city’s airport in October.
Yemeni officials said an attack on the presidential compound in Aden on 15 October killed five people and wounded 16.
The government operates from Aden. The Houthis have held Sanaa since 2014.
The United Nations humanitarian plan for 2026 estimates that more than 22 million people in Yemen need assistance. It puts 18.3 million at acute levels of food insecurity.
The plan records more than 2.2 million children under five as acutely malnourished. That figure includes 516,157 with severe acute malnutrition.
It counts 5.2 million people displaced inside the country. The appeal seeks 2.16 billion dollars to reach 12 million people.
Bab al-Mandab, at the southern end of the Red Sea, carries a share of the traffic between Europe and Asia.
The European Union launched Aspides in February 2024 to escort merchant shipping through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Its mandate runs to 2027.
France maintains a military base in Djibouti, across the strait from Yemen.
France holds one of the five permanent seats on the Security Council.
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