Hans Grundberg, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen, called on the Houthis to halt their military attack in Taiz governorate, warning that escalating fighting was exposing civilians to serious risks amid reports of casualties, infrastructure damage and road closures affecting residents’ ability to leave areas of confrontation.
Grundberg warns of escalating fighting in Taiz
In a statement issued on 1 October 2026, Grundberg said he was concerned about developments in Taiz governorate, where fighting had intensified significantly. He added that the military operations carried out by the Houthis in the area posed a grave risk to civilians.
The UN envoy said his office had received reports that he described as extremely concerning about casualties, infrastructure damage and road closures restricting residents’ ability to leave areas of fighting. He stressed the need to protect civilians and civilian facilities, prevent further damage, and ensure that aid reached those in need safely and without obstruction.
Clashes threaten civilians and hinder aid access
Grundberg noted that Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, is located in the governorate currently hosting the majority of Yemenis recently displaced by fighting in other parts of the country, increasing the humanitarian risks resulting from continued clashes and road closures. The UN envoy said he was maintaining close contacts with the Yemeni government and the Houthis to contain the situation and ensure civilians’ freedom of movement.
He renewed his call for an end to the military attack, alongside urgent measures to prevent the fighting from spreading and allow residents to leave affected areas safely. Grundberg’s statement came after weeks of escalating clashes in several Yemeni governorates.
Wider escalation spreads to other Yemeni governorates
He had told the UN Security Council on 10 September that large-scale attacks launched by the Houthis in Taiz and Hodeidah at the beginning of the month had led to increasingly intense clashes with government forces, before the fighting spread to Marib, al-Jawf and Al Bayda. In that briefing, Grundberg said reports indicated that civilians had been killed in Taiz, Hodeidah, Al Bayda, al-Jawf and other areas, while children had also been killed and shelters for displaced people destroyed in Marib.
He added that humanitarian agencies had recorded the displacement of more than 11,400 families since 3 September, most of them concentrated in Taiz and southern Hodeidah. In a statement issued on 7 September, the UN envoy had called on all parties to halt hostilities, exercise the utmost restraint and use existing coordination channels to prevent further escalation.
He also urged them to fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. In the context of the humanitarian repercussions of the escalation, a rights report issued at the beginning of October said that fighting in western Taiz and the western coast had killed at least 16 civilians and injured about 18 others between 3 July and 22 September.
It also cited another estimate from the Executive Unit for the Management of Displaced Persons’ Camps, which put the number at about 158,109 people, explaining that the discrepancy was due to differences in registration periods, methodologies and coverage.
