The UN secretary-general warned of "increasing secessionist tendencies" in southern Yemen and of a humanitarian crisis where 61 percent of the country’s population is in need of aid

The UN secretary-general warned of "increasing secessionist tendencies" in southern Yemen and of a humanitarian crisis where 61 percent of the country's population is in need of aid.

"We must do everything possible to help Yemen step back from the brink and get the political process back on track," Ban Ki-moon said. He said the first focus is on "helping the Yemeni people to re-establish a legitimate government authority as soon as possible."

In his statement Thursday, Ban demanded freedom of movement for Hadi.

Ki-moon’s grim briefing followed a similar statement to the UN Security Council from the UN envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar on Thursday.

Benomar warned that the impoverished country is at a crossroads between "civil war and disintegration" and a successful political transition.

Benomar told the council that instability in Yemen is creating conditions for al-Qaeda to establish a foothold in more parts of the country.

Speaking from Yemen, Benomar said he is "in the middle of delicate negotiations" daily with parties involved in the conflict. "We are navigating through many minefields," he said.

In a sign of the uncertainty on the ground, Benomar downgraded his assessment of the talks, departing from "good progress has been made" in his prepared text to say "reasonable progress has been made."

Yemen's representative urged the Security Council to take "rapid measures."