UNSC hears warnings of second major threat to global commerce as Houthis advance on key Red Sea point

United Nations: With a second major threat to global commerce looming, diplomats at the Security Council expressed concern over the Houthis advancing on key areas that control access to the Red Sea leading to the Suez Canal.

“Fighting has intensified along Yemen’s west coast, as the Houthis continued their advance towards the Bab al Mandab Strait, reportedly capturing several islands in the southern Red Sea”, Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari warned at an emergency session of the Council on Tuesday.

“The situation in and around the Bab al Mandab Strait has become increasingly volatile in recent days”, he said

These developments at the strait that controls access to and from the Suez Canal via the Red Sea “underline the urgent need to prevent Yemen’s conflict from further threatening the security of the Red Sea and this vital international maritime route”, he said.

About 30 per cent of the world’s container traffic and about 12 per cent of all global trade pass through the Suez.

Already, traffic on the Strait of Hormuz, the seaway for 20 per cent of global supplies of petroleum and gas, is down to a trickle, endangering the economies far beyond.

If the crisis on the Bab al Mandab Strait were to intensify and disrupt shipping, the world would be hit with a double blow, as many warned.

Greece’s Permanent Representative warned that with the Strait of Hormuz already in crisis, an escalation at the mouth of the Red Sea would have devastating impact on maritime security, global trade and prosperity.

Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Representative Abdulaziz M Alwasil, whose country has come under attack from the Houthis, said they and their militias are trying to choke the straits with the aim of holding the global economy hostage.

The Houthi rebels are backed by Iran, and Jennifer Locetta, a US representative, asked the Council to take action against Tehran, which she said is arming and directing them.

“Despite repeated condemnation by the Security Council, the Houthi militias continue to threaten and disrupt navigation and vital maritime lifelines”, Bahrain’s Permanent Representative Jamal Fares Alrowaiei said at the emergency session convened at his country’s request.

“It is high time for the Security Council to take a more decisive stance”, he said, and it was echoed by several countries at the Council, which is, however, powerless to act because of the polarisation of the permanent members.

Abdullah Ali Fadhel al-Saadi, the permanent representative of Yemen, which is battling the rebels, said his government was trying to block their advance on the country’s west coast, which would threaten international shipping.

The Houthi escalation is an international issue because of its ramifications for international shipping, he said, urging the Council to strictly enforce the arms embargo on them.

IANS