Russia calls urgent UN Security meeting over Yemen strikes
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Russia requested an emergency meeting of the UN security council on Jan. 12 after the U.S. and U.K. launched strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen, RIA Novosti reported, citing Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
The U.S. and Britain on Jan. 11 attacked from air and sea Houthi military facilities in Yemen in response to the Iran-backed group’s attacks on Red Sea ships that have followed Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
Washington confirmed conducting launches with fighter jets and Tomahawk missiles on Jan. 11.
“Today, at my direction, U.S. military forces ... successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways,” U.S. President Joe Biden said.
Biden said the attacks were a response to the “more than 50 nations that have been affected in 27 attacks on international commercial shipping” in the Red Sea, which has resulted in crews from more than 20 countries being threatened or taken hostage in acts of piracy.
“More than 2,000 ships have been forced to divert thousands of miles to avoid the Red Sea – which can cause weeks of delays in product shipping times,” according to Biden.
Ten countries were involved in the strikes, including Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, the U.K., and the U.S.
A spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthis commented on the strikes on X, saying that the group would continue its attacks on Israeli ships or other vessels in the Red Sea that are going to Israel.
Read also: Ukrainians trapped in besieged Gaza: ‘We are constantly bombed’
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