During a meeting held by the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grunderg, said the impoverished nation risks being dragged further into the military escalation in the Middle East.
The UN Envoy warned that repeated attacks on international shipping by Houthi rebels "have significantly increased the risk of an environmental disaster" in the Red Sea and demanded immediate deescalation.
The UN official also called for the release of dozens of UN personnel, staff of non-governmental organizations and diplomatic missions, and members of civil society, most of whom have been detained since June.
According to Grundberg, "Yemenis continue to yearn and work for peace," but hopes for progress to end the escalating violence in the Middle East "seem distant."
"Now, like many in the Middle East, Yemenis' hopes for a brighter future are falling under the shadow of potentially catastrophic regional conflagration," Grundberg concluded.