UPDATE - UN Security Council adopts resolution condemning Houthi attacks in Red Sea

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By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The UN Security Council adopted a resolution Wednesday condemning and demanding an immediate halt to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group on ships in the Red Sea.

The draft resolution submitted by the US and Japan was approved with a vote of 11 in favor, zero against and four abstentions, including Russia.

Before the voting, Russia proposed amendments to the draft resolution, but they were rejected.

The resolution condemns in the strongest terms at least two dozen Houthi attacks on merchant and commercial vessels since Nov. 19 and demands that the Houthis immediately cease all attacks, which impede global commerce and undermine navigational rights and freedoms.

It also demands that the Houthis immediately release the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated cargo ship with links to an Israeli company, and its crew.

Urging caution and restraint to avoid a further escalation of the situation in the Red Sea, the resolution also requests that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres provide written monthly reports through July 1 to the Security Council on any further Houthi attacks on merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have targeted vessels in the southern Red Sea and warned they will attack all Israel-bound ships. They say the attacks are to support Palestinians as they face Israel's "aggression and siege" in Gaza.

The Red Sea is one of the world's most frequently used sea routes for oil and fuel shipments.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently announced the creation of a multinational mission -- Operation Prosperity Guardian -- to counter the Houthi attacks.