The alert follows an attempt by forces affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council (STC) to expand their presence in the resource-rich and strategically important eastern governorates of Hadramout and Al Mahra, a move reportedly reversed earlier this month by government-aligned and Saudi-backed forces.
The latest crisis comes after more than a decade of fighting between Houthi-led forces (who control the capital Sanaa) and the internationally recognized government in Aden, backed by a Saudi-led military coalition.
Complex operating environment
“It’s an extraordinarily complicated situation,” Harneis told reporters in Geneva. “Just last month in Aden, we went through a situation where the Government of Yemen was in charge and then, for 48 hours, the Southern Transitional (Council). The situation took hold in all areas of the Government of Yemen, including areas they had never been to.”
However, just four weeks later, an STC delegation issued a statement while in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, announcing that they had indeed “dissolved” their movement, allowing the Government of Yemen to retake the recently captured areas. “But at the same time, we have demonstrations in Aden saying, ‘No, we are not (disbanded), we are still there,’” Mr. Harneis explained.
Last week, UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg told the Security Council that this latest political and security upheaval underscored how quickly stability could crumble without a credible and inclusive political process to bring a negotiated end to the debilitating war.
Ensuring a peaceful future for the people of Yemen and providing life-saving aid has also been complicated by the continued detention of UN staff and diplomatic workers, among others, by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels who control Sana’a.
Mr. Harneis described the torment suffered by the families of the 69 staff members still detained: “It is terrible for them; some families have not seen their loved ones in five years. They do not know the conditions of their detention, they do not know where they are, they do not know if they are going to be sentenced to death in the coming days.”
Millions are hungry
The latest UN data shows that more than 20 million Yemenis – about half the population – will face acute food insecurity next month, while tens of thousands could face famine-like conditions.
“We expect things to be much worse in 2026,” Harneis said.
A child is carried by his mother through a neighborhood in Al Hawtah, Lahj governorate in Yemen.
The country’s health system is also collapsing. More than 450 facilities have already closed and thousands more are at risk of losing funding. Vaccination programs are also under threat and only two-thirds of Yemen’s children are fully immunized, largely due to lack of access in the north.
“The way economic and political decisions are developing… food insecurity is only getting worse in all parts of the country,” the UN aid official said.
“We’re going to see a major shift where the health system will not receive the support it has received in the past.”
Despite access restrictions, UN partners reached 3.4 million people with food assistance last year, along with emergency support during floods and disease outbreaks.
The UN has been working in Yemen since the 1960s, helping to achieve development progress and protect the country’s most vulnerable people. “And then all of a sudden, in the last few years, this collapse… inexplicably,” Harneis said. “That has a chilling effect on aid workers.”