(VOVworld) – The UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss the crisis of the deteriorating situation in Yemen.

A protester holds up a poster of Yemen's former president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi during an anti-Houthi demonstration in Sanaa. (Photo: Reuters)

Council members showed their support for President Mansour Hadi and called on the conflicting parties to join negotiations. In a statement, the Council condemned the latest unilateral actions by Houthi rebel forces and threatened to impose "further measures" if they don’t hand back control of the capital Sanaa and other regions to the government. The Council backs Hadi as the legitimate president of Yemen as well as Yemen’s unification, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.

Currently, Sanaa and other northern areas are held by Houthi rebels while southern Yemen is under control of pro-government forces.