The UN’s secretary general, António Guterres, has urged countries to avoid an escalation in the Red Sea, a day after the US and UK launched strikes across multiple parts of Yemen in response to Houthi attacks against commercial shipping.
In a statement by his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, the UN chief warned that the Houthis must “immediately cease all such attacks” on international shipping in the Red Sea.
These attacks are “not acceptable as they endanger the safety and security of global supply chains and have a negative impact on the economic and humanitarian situation worldwide,” he said.
He said countries defending their ships from Houthi attacks must do so in accordance with international law and not escalate the situation. The statement continued:
The Secretary-General stresses the need to avoid acts that could further worsen the situation in Yemen itself. He calls for every effort to be made to ensure that Yemen pursues a path towards peace and that the work undertaken thus far to end the conflict in Yemen should not be lost.
