Yemen Army Strikes Houthis as UN Warns of Conflict Risk; Turkey Advances Kurdish Peace Bill

Yemen's armed forces launched attacks on Houthi rebel positions on Saturday, responding to recent rebel strikes in central and eastern parts of the country. Military spokesperson Colonel Majed al-Nazili said the operations targeted the rebels' "sites and capabilities" across multiple front lines, without providing further details. He described the action as necessary to defend the military's security, marking a significant escalation since a UN-brokered truce in April 2022 largely halted major fighting.

The civil war pits the Iran-backed Houthi movement against a Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognized government. The renewed hostilities come as the United Nations warns of a slide back into full-scale conflict. In a statement on Friday, UN envoy Hans Grundberg urged all parties to show restraint, saying Yemen now faces a greater risk of renewed large-scale war than at any point since the truce began.

Meanwhile, in Turkey, a draft law aimed at advancing a peace process with Kurdish militants cleared its first parliamentary hurdle on Saturday. A parliamentary committee approved the measure, which includes a conditional pardon-like mechanism for thousands of former fighters. The legislation outlines procedures for the disarmament of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the rehabilitation of some members, suspending prison sentences for those convicted of membership and postponing prosecutions of others.

The measures would only take effect after Turkey's National Security Council confirms that the PKK has disbanded and surrendered all weapons. The PKK declared its decision to disarm and disband last year as part of the peace initiative. The conflict, which began in the 1980s, has killed tens of thousands of people and spilled into neighboring Iraq and Syria. Turkey and its Western allies designate the PKK as a terrorist organization.