\n
<\/p>\n
UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u00a0is\u00a0deeply alarmed\u00a0about\u00a0the resumption of Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea\u00a0this week\u00a0and the renewed threats to maritime navigation, his Spokesperson\u00a0said\u00a0in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Yemeni\u00a0armed movement\u00a0formally known as Ansar Allah, backed by Iran,\u00a0recently entered the conflict and\u00a0have threatened to blockade the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key shipping route to the Red Sea.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Houthis\u00a0have\u00a0been battling Yemeni Government forces, who are backed by\u00a0a\u00a0Saudi Arabia-led coalition, for more than a decade.\u00a0\u00a0On Thursday,\u00a0they\u00a0claimed to have struck two Saudi\u00a0oil\u00a0tankers, according to media reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe attack on commercial vessels, claimed by the Houthis, risks further heightening regional tensions and widening the current cycle of escalation with the potential to draw Yemen deeper into regional conflict<\/strong>,\u201d UN Spokesperson St\u00e9phane Dujarric\u00a0said\u00a0in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n He warned that \u201cfurther hostilities in Yemen will undermine prospects for peace, and cause serious economic, humanitarian and environmental consequences across and beyond the region.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In response, the\u00a0Secretary-General\u00a0called\u00a0for immediate de-escalation and\u00a0urged the\u00a0Houthis\u00a0\u2013 who control the capital and much\u00a0of the west \u2013\u00a0to\u00a0refrain from any\u00a0further attacks or other escalatory actions, in line with\u00a0UN\u00a0Security Council resolutions\u00a0on\u00a0attacks against commercial vessels and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The UN Special Envoy for Yemen also expressed alarm over the resumed Houthi attacks. Hans Grundberg has held extensive engagements over the past weeks with Yemeni, regional and international stakeholders.<\/p>\n The UN has been pushing for peace since the current conflict in the Middle East first erupted in late February following joint US-Israeli bombing of Iran\u00a0and\u00a0retaliatory strikes\u00a0by Tehran\u00a0across\u00a0the\u00a0Gulf\u00a0region.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n A ceasefire announced in April, which\u00a0was extended,\u00a0collapsed this month, including over violations surrounding\u00a0the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway\u00a0responsible for\u00a0roughly a\u00a0quarter of global sea\u00a0trade\u00a0particularly oil and gas\u00a0supplies.\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0UN\u00a0High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker T\u00fcrk, on Friday\u00a0called for urgent action\u00a0on behalf of\u00a0thousands of seafarers who\u00a0remain\u00a0stranded\u00a0in the\u00a0strait<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n At\u00a0least 6,000\u00a0crew members\u00a0on some 400 vessels\u00a0are\u00a0still\u00a0there, having been unable to evacuate during the ceasefire,\u00a0according to information from the International Maritime Organization\u00a0(IMO).\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis number is not exhaustive as many others are unaccounted for, believed to be stuck in the Persian Gulf on a range of smaller vessels or have otherwise not been located,\u201d\u00a0said Shabia Mantoo, Spokesperson for the High Commissioner.\u00a0<\/p>\n She said his office, OHCHR,\u00a0has also obtained information that some seafarers have been abandoned by shipowners who have left them\u00a0on the high seas\u00a0without support, repatriation and even their owed wages.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n OHCHR is\u00a0aware\u00a0of at least nine\u00a0such\u00a0ships, with 93 crew members,\u00a0who have been\u00a0abandoned since the start of the war.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe\u00a0seafarers have been left on their ships to fend for themselves without food, water, fuel, medical care, electricity or means to communicate with their families<\/strong>,\u201d\u00a0Ms.\u00a0Mantoo\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Crew members\u00a0\u201cface\u00a0prolonged isolation and confinement in a conflict zone, with uncertainty about their safety and disembarkation \u2013 risking a severe toll on their mental and physical well-being.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n They also\u00a0remain\u00a0exposed to hostilities as deadly attacks continue\u00a0in the Strait of Hormuz.\u00a0Ms.\u00a0Mantoo\u00a0recalled that there have been\u00a017 seafarer\u00a0deaths since the start of the conflict.\u00a0<\/p>\nConcern for stranded seafarers<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Abandoned ships<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Danger at sea<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n