Yemen peace process on hold as crisis grows in Red Sea after Houthi attacks

Houthi attacks and Western air raids have halted Yemen's peace process, worsening the country's dire situation.

As Houthi attacks roil the Red Sea and Western air raids target the rebels, moves to end Yemen’s long-running war are at a standstill, threatening further woe for a country on its knees.

As recently as December, painstaking negotiations were gaining ground and the U.N. said the warring parties had agreed to work towards “the resumption of an inclusive political process”.

The Iran-backed Houthis have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition since March 2015, months after they seized the capital Sanaa and most of Yemen’s population centres, forcing the internationally recognised government south to Aden.

Hundreds of thousands of people have died in the fighting and from indirect causes such as disease and malnutrition. More than 18 million Yemenis need “urgent support”, according to the UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA.

Hostilities slowed considerably in April 2022, when a six-month, UN-brokered ceasefire came into effect, and they have remained at a low level since.

But Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and American and British retaliation have thrown the peace process “up in the air”, said Farea Al-Muslimi, a research fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

The Houthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, have launched dozens of attacks on ships in the vital maritime route since November.