The UN Security Council will hold an emergency session on the situation around the strategically important Bab al-Mandab Strait amid escalating conflict in Yemen.
The British UN mission said the meeting was requested by Bahrain, Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia and the United Kingdom.
The session is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. local time (1900 GMT), with representatives of Yemen and Saudi Arabia expected to attend alongside the 15 council members.
The emergency meeting follows a recent advance by Iran-backed Houthi forces towards Bab al-Mandab, bringing the militia closer to the strategic maritime passage.
The development could make it easier for the Houthis to attack commercial vessels in the area than at any time since they began such attacks in 2023.
The Houthis have said they want to guarantee the safety of shipping through the strait, except for Saudi Arabia, whose vessels they have subjected to what they describe as a “blockade”.
The Houthis seized northern Yemen, including the capital, Sana’a, in 2014 and continue to control large parts of the region.
Saudi Arabia has fought the militia alongside Yemen’s internationally recognised government for more than a decade as part of a military coalition.
Bab al-Mandab connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and forms part of a major shipping route linking the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean.
The route is considered the shortest maritime link between Europe and Asia.
dpa/NAN
