The Secretary-General of the United Nations expresses his deep concern about the escalation of fighting in Yemen

The spokesman for the Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said that Guterres is deeply concerned by the sharp escalation in the fighting, which has intensified significantly in recent days, adding that he condemns the continued cross-border Houthi attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“The Secretary-General wants the parties to work to reduce tensions,” said Farhan Haq, Guterres’s deputy spokesman. He added that Guterres does not believe that further militarization of the conflict, including the intervention of external forces, would be useful for calm.

The UN position comes hours after government forces launched a massive attack. On Monday, the Yemeni government forces announced the recovery of the strategic coastal city of Mokha, in addition to controlling the Dhubab district and key sites near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the start of a “strategic attack” on the capital, Sanaa.

The spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, Major General Turki al-Maliki, said that 100 fighter planes were providing support to the Yemeni forces, and that the coalition had destroyed hundreds of Houthi targets. The head of the Presidential Command Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, announced the start of a major attack to regain all the areas that the government lost to the Houthis.

On the other hand, Houthi forces said that Saudi Arabia carried out 106 air and missile strikes within 24 hours targeting Sanaa and other areas, and claimed that they responded by striking vital Saudi energy facilities.