Guinea-Bissau and Kenya signed a 24-nation joint statement released this Wednesday supporting UK and US attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The signatories said Monday’s attacks “demonstrated a shared determination to protect the rights and freedoms of navigation, and to protect the lives of seafarers from unlawful and unjustified attacks.”
The United States and Britain said they bombed eight Houthi positions in Yemen on Monday to destroy one of their underground missile stores as well as radar and air defense systems.
The attacks, according to a text published this Wednesday, were “a response to the Houthis’ ongoing illegal and reckless attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea and surrounding waterways.”
According to the declaration, they were carried out “in accordance with the inalienable right to individual and collective self-defense, in accordance with the UN Charter.”
“The more than thirty attacks the Houthis have launched against commercial and naval vessels since mid-November pose a threat to all countries that rely on international maritime traffic. We condemn these attacks and demand that they stop,” the 24 signatory countries emphasized. .
In addition to Guinea-Bissau and Kenya, Albania, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Italy, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Poland , Republic of Korea, Romania, UK and USA.
In recent weeks, Yemeni rebels close to Iran have stepped up attacks near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which separates the Arabian Peninsula from Africa.
The Red Sea, which provides access to the Suez Canal, is important for international trade: an estimated 12 to 15% of global traffic uses this sea route, favored by 30% to 35% of container ships.
The Houthis say they are targeting ships linked to Israel in retaliation for Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The conflict escalated on October 7 after a Palestinian Islamist group attacked Israeli soil, killing about 1,200 people.
According to Hamas, Israel’s response caused the deaths of more than 25,000 people in the Gaza Strip.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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