• Security Council demands immediate end to escalation, warns of fresh exodus into Djibouti
• Saudi grand mufti urges troops to defend ‘every inch,’ lay down their lives if needed; calls restoring Yemeni govt authority ‘obligation’

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday condemned escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Houthis in a rare show of unity, as the kingdom’s top religious authority urged soldiers to lay down their lives fighting the group.

The Houthis have imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, hitting tankers and seizing swathes of Yemen’s Red Sea coast vital for oil exports. The escalation caused energy prices to jump and threatens a humanitarian crisis, with 125,000 displaced across Yemen since early September.

“The members of the Security Council condemned, in the strongest terms, continued Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including attacks impacting civilian and energy infrastructure, which have resulted in the injury of civilians, including women and children,” said French UN envoy Jerome Bonnafont, the council’s rotating president.

The body demanded the Houthis immediately cease military escalation and uphold navigation rights.

Barham Salih, the UN’s refugee chief, told the council that ordinary Yemenis were paying the heaviest price for the conflict, with growing numbers crossing into Dji­bouti to escape the fighting. “More crossings are reported to be underway,” he said.

Mufti’s message

Meanwhile, Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan Al-Fawzan called on soldiers in the kingdom to be ready to lay down their lives to fight the Houthis until the group is ousted from power, a statement posted on the Saudi state news agency said.

“Protecting this great nation … and punishing anyone who seeks to lay a hand on even an inch of its territory are among the greatest duties and most virtuous acts of devotion, for which lives and souls may be sacrificed in seeking God’s pleasure,” the mufti said.

The rare and strongly worded message by Saudi grand mufti drew heavily on Quranic verses and recorded sayings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) related to sacrifice and struggle in defence of God.

The statement follows the loss of the strategically vital Bab al-Mandeb strait to Houthi forces. Restoring the Saudi-backed Yemeni government’s authority, the mufti said, was “among the most pressing obligations” facing the kingdom.

“We ask God Almighty to grant you all his support, and to protect our countries and beloved Yemen from all harm,” he added. “We also ask him to bring about the complete defeat of the Houthi group and those who assist and support them.”

The development follows a series of recent claims by Saudi state media linking the Houthis to attacks on religious sites.

State television has aired footage said to show a Houthi strike on a mosque in southern Saudi Arabia, while Saudi officials have accused the group of targeting Makkah, Islam’s holiest site.

Addressing troops directly, the mufti closed with an appeal to religious duty: “It is incumbent upon you … to remain constantly prepared to perform your duty, to obey the rulers and your field commanders, and to carry out orders with the utmost precision. You are following in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) companions, defending the sacred sites of Muslims.”

The recent fighting is the latest episode in 12 years of civil war in Yemen which had largely been frozen since a 2022 ceasefire, but has escalated again and has become linked to the wider Iran war.

Observers have been questioning whether Saudi Arabia will launch a broader military operation along with Yemeni government forces it backs.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2026