U.N. Yemen envoy Jamal Benomar addresses a news conference on a proposal to turn the country into a federation of semi-autonomous regions.

The U.N. special envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, told Al Arabiya News Channel and its sister channel al-Hadath late on Wednesday that the country was close to entering a civil war.

“We believe the situation is very dangerous. Yemen is on the brink of civil war,” Benomar said.

“The United Nations’ position vis-à-vis the Yemeni crisis is clear: conflicts should be resolved by peaceful means,” he added. “The United Nations has no choice except to stay with Yemenis to support them in this situation and help them work a deal.”

He accused “all” Yemeni factions of having contributed to the political and economic turmoil.

“They are all party to what has happened so far, they have all made mistakes and follies and sometimes groups resorted to violence to realize political aims.”

“And some groups used political maneuvers to impede the political process,” the envoy added.

He said the Houthi constitutional decree was “one-sided” and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

“We are not leaving Yemen, and we will remain standing for Yemen until a political deal and a clear roadmap are reached,” he added.

Yemen, a country already rife with violence, slipped into further chaos as the Iranian-backed Houthi militias seized the capital in September. Last month, the group stormed the country’s presidential complex forcing President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi to resign from his office.

Earlier this week, the United States, France and Britain evacuated their embassies in Sanaa, a move criticized by the Houthi rebels as “unjustified.”

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