The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday condemned attacks by Yemen-based Houthi rebels on ships sailing through the Red Sea and called for them to immediately cease.
“Repeated Houthi attacks on international shipping are not only a security threat but an economic threat, increasing food, medicine and energy prices,” said U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
In a council resolution drafted by the United States and Japan, members called for an immediate halt to the attacks, saying they impede global commerce and “undermine navigational rights and freedoms, as well as regional peace and security.”
The move comes in response to a series of attacks using missiles, drones and militants approaching ships on boats that have disrupted maritime travel through a key waterway linking the Arabian and Mediterranean seas.
Eleven of the council’s 15 members supported the resolution, none voted against, but Russia, China, Algeria and Mozambique abstained.
“This is not a question of ensuring security of navigation in the Red Sea but an attempt to legitimize actions of this coalition in hindsight and achieve from the Security Council an open-ended blessing of it,” Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia said, referring to a U.S.-led maritime coalition established to protect Red Sea vessels from the Houthis.
Shipping detours
The U.N. International Maritime Organization says around 15% of global shipping trade passes through the Red Sea, making it a key shipping lane. Since the Houthis began targeting ships on November 19, shippers have avoided the Red Sea, opting instead for the much longer route around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
The Iran-backed Houthis say they are targeting ships affiliated with or bound for Israel and that they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. But ships from 40 countries have been targeted and not all had links with Israel.
The militants have also been holding the 25 crew members of the Japanese-operated Galaxy Leader hostage since November 19. The resolution calls for the crew and ship’s immediate and unconditional release.
The U.S. military reported a new attack late Tuesday in the southern Red Sea involving 18 drones and three anti-ship missiles fired toward an area where dozens of ships were operating. It was the 26th such Houthi attack since November 19.
“We had the biggest attack — UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), missiles — just yesterday,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters as he was departing Manama, Bahrain, on Wednesday, the latest stop on his Middle East tour. “These attacks have been aided and abetted by Iran with technology, equipment, intelligence, information, and they are having a real-life impact on people."
U.S. Central Command said American and British forces shot down all the drones and missiles and that there were no injuries or damage reported.
Britain’s U.N. ambassador said London is committed to ensuring freedom of navigation and trade in the Red Sea.
“We will not stand by and allow the Houthis to threaten civilian vessels and hold global food and energy supplies hostage,” Ambassador Barbara Woodward told the council. “If necessary, and as previously stated by the U.K. defense secretary, we will not hesitate to take further action to deter threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.”
Chris Hannas contributed to this report.
