Ethiopia, Yemen & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (8 October 2026) | United Nations

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: Briefing Deputy Secretary-General Ethiopia Yemen/Saudi Arabia Lebanon Occupied Palestinian Territory Sudan Central African Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo Libya UN Office for Central Africa Afghanistan Ukraine Myanmar El Niño DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, concluded her visit to Fiji today, where she addressed the High-level Ministerial Meeting of the Pre-COP. She did that on behalf of the Secretary-General. In her opening remarks, she underscored the need to make any overshoot of the 1.5°C threshold as small and as short as possible, adding that COP31 must send a clear signal that adaptation and resilience are global political priorities, alongside mitigation, with measures that protect countries and communities on the frontlines. On the sidelines of the meeting, the Deputy Secretary-General met with the heads of delegation and civil society and youth representatives. She reaffirmed the UN’s continued support to protect the sovereignty, the statehood, the dignity and the rights of communities on the frontlines of climate change. And today, the Deputy Secretary-General is transiting in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia on her way back to New York. While in Addis she met with the Foreign Minister of Ethiopia to discuss the current developments in the country and the broader region. The Deputy Secretary-General congratulated the new Government sworn into office today and noted that the new cabinet is comprised of 41 per cent women. Ms. Mohammed stressed the need to respect Ethiopia’s territorial integrity and its sovereignty, and to preserve regional stability. ETHIOPIA In Ethiopia, UN humanitarian partners today report some modest but positive development on the delivery of humanitarian assistance in the Tigray region. Yesterday, they have distributed food to communities impacted by recent hostilities. Cash assistance through electronic transfers has also resumed following the restoration of banking services in the area. UN humanitarian partners are also preparing to send and pre-position additional supplies to strengthen the response and replenish the stocks that were lost to looting. Despite this progress, significant challenges remain. Insecurity along conflict front lines, the risk of looting, cash shortages and continued uncertainty over access are all hampering ongoing relief efforts. Once again, the UN calls for the rapid, the safe, the unhindered and sustained delivery of humanitarian goods wherever is needed and to whomever needs it. YEMEN/SAUDI ARABIA The UN once again reiterates its strong condemnation of the continued Houthi cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia, including their recent attacks against the Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in the capital Riyadh. Those attacks reportedly killed three people and injured several others. The UN remains deeply concerned about the ongoing military escalation in and around Yemen, with intense fighting across multiple frontlines, including around Taiz. The UN underscores that attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law. The UN urges the parties, once again, to uphold their commitments and obligations under international humanitarian law and to refrain from directing attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure and to take constant care to spare both civilians and the infrastructure they rely on. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-10-08


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