The United States has condemned recent attacks on civilian ships in the Red Sea by the Houthis. These incidents include the sinking of the M/V TUTOR earlier this week and the abandonment of the M/V VERBENA, which now poses a navigational hazard to other maritime traffic. The Houthis previously killed three seafarers aboard the MV True Confidence on March 6 and sank the MV Rubymar on March 2, endangering Red Sea ecosystems.
These Houthi actions have significantly disrupted vital humanitarian assistance to Yemenis and have created severe economic and humanitarian risks for countries in the Red Sea region and beyond. The United States noted that these attacks represent a clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2722, which demands that the Houthis "immediately cease all such attacks."
"The United States has been clear that we and our partners will continue to take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping from Houthi attacks in this critical international waterway," stated a U.S. official. The statement emphasized efforts to safeguard vital economic and humanitarian assistance to countries in the region.
Additionally, the U.S. called on the Houthis to release all detainees, including United Nations staff, diplomatic personnel, and non-governmental organization workers detained earlier this month. "The Houthis have employed disinformation to shift blame for these abhorrent detentions to outside actors to distract from their own recklessness," added another official. "We will not rest until all detainees are released."
