The United States called on the U.N. Security Council Wednesday to take urgent action against Yemen’s Houthi rebels for attacking ships in the key Red Sea trade route and warned their longtime financier Iran that it has a choice to make about continuing to provide support to the rebels.
U.S. deputy ambassador Christopher Lu told an emergency council meeting that the Houthis have carried out more than 20 attacks since Nov. 19 – and despite losing 10 fighters in a confrontation with U.S. forces after trying unsuccessfully to board a cargo ship on Sunday, the rebel group announced Wednesday morning they had targeted another container ship.
The Houthis, who have been engaged in a civil war with Yemen’s internationally recognized government since 2014, have said they launched the attacks on ships in the Red Sea with the aim of ending Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack in southern Israel.
International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told the council that as a result of the Houthi attacks, around 18 shipping companies have rerouted their vessels around South Africa to avoid the risk of being hit.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told the council that as a result of the Houthi attacks, around 18 shipping companies have rerouted their vessels around South Africa to avoid the risk of being hit.
“It can continue its current course,” Lu said, “or it can withhold its support without which the Houthis would struggle to effectively track and strike commercial vessels navigating shipping lanes through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.”
After the U.S. Navy sank three Houthi boats on Sunday with the loss of 10 of its fighters, the spokesman for the White House National Security Council wouldn’t say what further actions the Biden administration was considering.
A U.S. draft resolution circulated to council members after the open meeting and obtained by The Associated Press would condemn and demand an immediate halt to the Houthi attacks and recognize the right of any country to defend their merchant and naval vessels in accordance with international law.
There was near unanimous condemnation of the Houthi attacks in speeches Wednesday by the 15 council members, and many calls for the rebel group to release the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated cargo ship with links to an Israeli company that it seized on Nov. 19 along with its crew.
“The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways,” the 12 countries said.
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