UN Demanded The Houthis Stop Their Attacks In The Red Sea And Release Ship With Bulgarians

The UN Security Council has asked Yemen's Houthi rebels to immediately stop attacks on vessels in the Red Sea that began in November.

The same document, issued by the United States and Japan, called on the Houthis to release the Japanese-run Galaxy Leader, linked to an Israeli businessman and with a Bulgarian captain and co-captain, seized on November 19 and turned into a tourist attraction.

With the vote, the 15-member council, whose resolutions are binding, also effectively endorsed the US-led "Prosperity Guardian" naval operation against the Houthis, which (officially) involves a dozen countries.

The text talks about the right of UN member states, in accordance with international law, "to protect their vessels from attacks, including those that undermine the rights and freedoms of navigation".

It came hours after the US and Britain (its permanent members) said they had repelled the biggest Houthi attack to date.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Wednesday that a military response from the West could follow if the attacks continue. British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in a televised interview, asked if such action could be reached, that while he could not go into detail, the general statement (by the US and 11 other countries) from earlier this month "sets a very clear path that if this does not stop them, action will be taken".

The resolution was quickly dismissed by the Houthis themselves as a "political game" and that it was the United States that was violating international law. "We call on the Security Council to immediately release 2.3 million people from the Israeli-American siege in Gaza," Mohammed Ali al-Houthi wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

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