The UN Security Council convened Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Yemen, amid growing concern over the deteriorating situation and calls for the parties to re-engage in the political process, diplomats said. The meeting was held behind closed doors, at Britain's request. The council was expected to issue a statement later Tuesday or on Wednesday.
One diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the statement would express the council's concern over the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and urge the belligerents to return to the table to seek a political settlement.
Earlier in Washington, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement calling on all parties in Yemen to exercise restraint. "The United States government is alarmed by renewed violence in Yemen," the statement said. "Renewed fighting is unacceptable and threatens to undermine this hard-earned progress.
"We call on all parties to put the needs of the Yemeni people first and immediately return to restraint. The Huthis must cease attacks on Saudi territory."
Clashes between the rebel Huthis and Yemeni government forces resumed on January 19 after months of relative calm. On Saturday, the Huthis seized control of a strategic highway east of Sanaa, pursuing their offensive to the north and east of the Yemeni capital, according to loyalist military officers.
The war, which began in 2015, pits the Iranian-backed Huthi rebels against government forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition. The war has claimed tens of thousands of lives, most of them civilians, according to several non-governmental groups. The UN has called the situation there "the world's worst humanitarian crisis."
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