UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called on “all parties” to avoid “escalation” following attacks by the United States and United Kingdom against the Houthis in Yemen, denounced as “blatant aggression” by Russia at the Security Council.
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“The secretary general calls on all parties concerned to avoid an escalation of the situation in the interest of peace and stability in the Red Sea and throughout the region,” Guterres spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said during a news conference.
“We are witnessing a cycle of violence that could have serious implications for the political security, economy and humanitarian response in Yemen and the region,” warned Khaled Khiari, Under-Secretary-General in charge of Asian political affairs at the Security Council.
“These developments in the Red Sea and the risk of escalating regional tensions are alarming,” he added at the start of an emergency Security Council meeting at Russia’s request.
The United States and the United Kingdom bombed Yemen's Houthis overnight after those Iran-backed rebels spent weeks attacking maritime traffic in the Red Sea in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where the war between Israel and Hamas is raging.
The American and British attacks have revived fears of regional spillover of the war in Gaza.
“Endangered” ships
In the Security Council, Russia condemned “blatant aggression” and a “massive attack” by the United States and the United Kingdom on “the territory of Yemen.”
“These states have all carried out a massive attack on Yemeni territory. “I am not talking about an attack on a group within the country, but about an attack on the population of the country as a whole,” complained the Russian representative in the Security Council, Vasily Nebenzia, denouncing the use of “aircraft.” “warships” and “submarines”.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield has warned that no ship is safe from the threat the Houthi rebels pose to shipping in the Red Sea.
“Whether your ship flies the flag of the United States or another country, whether you voted for this week's resolution or abstained… all of our ships are vulnerable,” she said, referring to the one adopted by the Security Council on Wednesday Resolution calling for an “immediate response” to end Houthi attacks. Russia abstained from voting.
“Without support from Iran, which is violating its commitments, it would be difficult for the Houthis to detain and effectively attack commercial vessels using Red Sea shipping lanes,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield added.
The American and British attacks targeted military sites in Sanaa and in the governorates of Hodeida (west), Taiz (south), Hajjah (northwest) and Saada (north), a Houthis military spokesman said.
General Douglas Sims of the US General Staff spoke on Friday of 30 target locations with a total of more than 150 attacks.