11 countries issue warning to Houthis

Eleven countries, including Denmark have issued a warning against attacks on ships in the Red Sea, demanding that detainees be released. Human lives, the global economy and the free movement of goods are threatened by the Houthi movement’s attack on ships in the Red Sea the 11 write in a joint statement released by the White House Wednesday. The countries are demanding that the Houthi movement cease its attacks on ships sailing through the waters separating the Arabian Peninsula and Africa and running from southern Israel to Yemen.
     “Let our message be clear: we demand an immediate end to these illegal attacks and the release of illegally detained ships and crews. The Houthis are to blame for the consequences if they continue to threaten lives, the global economy and the free movement of goods on the region’s critical waterways,” the countries said in a statement. Several merchant ships have recently been attacked by the Yemen-based Houthi movement. The movement has reportedly targeted ships that it believes have some kind of connection to Israel.
DK Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen comments
     In a written comment to Ritzau, Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that Denmark as a maritime nation insists on the right to freedom of navigation. Also in the Red Sea. “We have joined forces with the United States and a number of other countries to send a crystal clear message to the Houthis: they must stop their illegal and unprovoked attacks against international shipping. The Houthis are fully responsible for the consequences of their actions. Therefore, Denmark will send a frigate to ward off similar attacks. As a major maritime nation, we insist on the right to freedom of navigation. The Houthi attempts to destabilise the maritime security situation cannot go unchallenged,” Løkke Rasmussen writes.
     The countries that have signed the statement are, apart from the United States: Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand. /ritzau/WhiteHouse/