UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Russia and China on Wednesday accused the United States and Britain of illegally attacking military sites used by them. Yemen’s Houthi rebels Launch missiles at merchant ships in the Red Sea, disrupting global shipping.
US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood and British Ambassador Barbara Woodward responded: Houthi attack These are illegal, and “proportionate lawful actions” against Yemeni rebels are being carried out in self-defense.
Woodward said the Houthi attacks are “increasing global transportation costs, including the cost of regional food supplies and humanitarian assistance.”
However, Russia’s Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky and China’s UN Special Envoy Zhang Jun insisted that the UN Security Council had never authorized military action against Yemen.
The clashes occurred during a council meeting, where Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy for Yemen, said promising efforts to restore peace to the country were being delayed by rising tensions in the region related to the conflict. war in gaza and “military escalation, especially in the Red Sea.”
Since November, Houthi rebels have targeted ships in the Red Sea to demand a ceasefire in the region. Israeli attack on Gaza. They frequently attack ships with weak or unclear ties to Israel, endangering shipping on vital trade routes between Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
In recent weeks, the United States and Britain, with support from other allies, have launched airstrikes targeting Houthi missile arsenals and attack launch sites.
U.S. Special Envoy Wood said: american strike It is aimed at countering attacks on U.S. naval vessels and “disrupting and reducing the ability of the Houthis to continue their reckless attacks on shipping and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden.”
He said that since 2014, Iran has provided the Houthis with a “growing number of advanced weapons” that they have used to target commercial ships, and that “Iran denies any role in enabling or supporting Houthi attacks. I can’t.”
Wood accused the Houthis of “trying to strangle global shipping through the Red Sea” and urged all countries, especially those with direct routes to Iran, to “instruct Iran’s leaders to “We urge them to put pressure on the United States to put a stop to these lawless attacks.”
Russia’s Polyansky stressed that the Russian government “categorically condemns attacks and seizures of merchant ships and (…) any attacks that impede freedom of navigation.” He said Russia had conveyed a message to Houthi leaders to focus on Yemen’s domestic challenges and pursue peace.
UN special envoy Grundberg said in late December that Yemen’s internationally recognized government, led by the Houthis, who control the capital and much of northern Yemen, had committed to a “nationwide ceasefire, measures to improve living conditions, and a resumption of the internal conflict.” I worked hard on it,” he said. Yemen’s political process. ”
But he said Yemen’s peace process cannot be separated from events in the region, and that US and UK attacks on Houthi targets and the US’ designation of the group as a “Specially Designated Terrorist Group” are “concerning”. “There is,” he said.
“Despite the potential for complications, my job will continue no matter what,” he said. “Therefore, it is imperative that we protect the political space, keep communication channels open and keep all stakeholders actively engaged in my efforts.”
Russia’s Polyansky said the root cause of the current situation is Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, which followed Hamas’s surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7, causing a chain reaction in the Middle East, including against the Houthis. said.
“An immediate ceasefire in Gaza will help stabilize the situation in the Red Sea, and once tensions in the area are resolved, envoy Grundberg’s efforts will be unimpeded,” Polyanski said.
Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis swept out of their strongholds in the north and chased the internationally recognized government from Sanaa. The following year, a Saudi-led coalition intervened on behalf of the government, and the conflict eventually became a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The war devastated Yemen, already the Arab region’s poorest country, and caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
UN Humanitarian Office Director-General Edem Wosornou told the Council that Yemen faces “continued large-scale needs”.
More than 18 million people, more than half the country’s population, will need humanitarian assistance this year, she said.
The United Nations expects 17.6 million people to be “severely food insecure” and face severe hunger, she said. “Almost half of children under the age of five face moderate to severe stunting.”
Last year, the United Nations received only 40% of $4.3 billion in humanitarian appeals, she said. This year’s Yemen Appeal is more targeted, seeking $2.7 billion to reach 11.2 million people across Yemen.
___
Full coverage of AP is https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war