UNITED NATIONS -- Russia and China on Wednesday accused the United States and Britain of illegally attacking military sites used by Yemenâs Houthi rebels to launch missiles at commercial vessels in the Red Sea, disrupting global shipping.
U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood and U.K. Ambassador Barbara Woodward countered that the Houthi attacks are illegal, and their âproportionate and legal actionâ against the Yemen rebels are being taken in self-defense.
Woodward said the Houthi attacks are âdriving up the costs of global shipping, including the costs of food supplies and humanitarian aid in the region.â
But Russiaâs deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky and Chinaâs UN envoy Zhang Jun argued that the UN Security Council never authorized military action against Yemen.
The clashes came at a council meeting where UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said promising efforts to restore peace to Yemen have been slowed by rising regional tensions linked to the war in Gaza and "in particular the military escalation in the Red Sea.â
Since November, the Houthi rebels have targeted ships in the Red Sea to demand a cease-fire in Israelâs offensive in Gaza. They have frequently attacked vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe.
In recent weeks, the United States and the United Kingdom, backed by other allies, have launched airstrikes targeting Houthi missile arsenals and launch sites for its attacks.
Wood, the U.S. envoy, said American strikes in response to attacks on U.S. naval vessels, âaim to disrupt and degrade the Houthisâ ability to continue their reckless attacks against vessels and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden.â
Since 2014, he said, Iran has provided the Houthis with âa growing arsenal of advanced weaponsâ that they have used to target commercial ships, and âIran cannot deny its role in enabling and supporting the attacks carried out by the Houthis.â
Wood accused the Houthis of âtrying to apply a chokehold on global shipping through the Red Seaâ and urged all countries, especially those with direct channels to Iran, âto press Iranâs leaders to rein in the Houthis and stop these lawless attacks.â
Russiaâs Polyansky stressed that Moscow âcategorically condemns attacks and seizures of commercial vessels and (...) any attacks which impede freedom of navigation.â He said Russia has conveyed messages to the Houthi leaders to focus on Yemenâs domestic agenda and pursue peace.
Grundberg, the UN envoy, said that in late December the Houthis, who control the capital and much of the countryâs north, and Yemenâs internationally recognized government âcommitted to a nationwide cease-fire, measures to improve living conditions, and restarting an intra-Yemeni political process.â
But he said Yemenâs peace process canât be cordoned off from the events in the region, and the U.S. and U.K. attacks on Houthi targets, and the U.S. designation of the Houthis as a âSpecially Designated Terrorist Groupâ are âconcerning.â
âDespite potential complications, my work will continue no matter what,â he said. âIt is therefore imperative that we protect the political space, that communication channels are kept open and that all actors remain actively engaged with my efforts.â
Russiaâs Polyansky said the root cause of the current situation is Israelâs military offensive in Gaza following Hamasâ surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, which has provoked a chain reaction in the Middle East including by the Houthis.
âAn immediate cease-fire in Gaza will help to stabilize the situation in the Red Sea, and the de-escalation in those waters will in turn unblock the efforts of the special envoy, Mr. Grundberg,â Polyansky said.
Yemenâs civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis swept down from their northern stronghold and chased the internationally recognized government from Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year on behalf of the government and in time the conflict turned into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The war has devastated Yemen, already the Arab regionâs poorest country, and created one of the worldâs worst humanitarian disasters.
Edem Wosornu, the UN humanitarian officeâs director of operations, told the council that Yemen faces âmassive continuing needs.â
This year, she said, over 18 million people â over half the countryâs population â will need humanitarian aid.
The UN anticipates that 17.6 million people will be âseverely food insecureâ â facing serious hunger, she said. âNearly half of all children under five face moderate to severe stuntingâ of their growth and development.
Last year, the UN received just 40 per cent of its US$4.3 billion humanitarian appeal, she said. This year, the Yemen appeal is more targeted and seeks US$2.7 billion to reach 11.2 million people across Yemen.