Russia and China clash with US and UK over attacks on Yemen rebels for strikes on Red Sea ships

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia and China accused the United States and Britain of illegally attacking military sites used by Yemen’s Houthi rebels to launch missiles at commercial vessels in the Red Sea. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood and UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward countered that the Houthi attacks are illegal, and their “proportionate and legal action” is being taken in self-defense. But Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador and China’s U.N. envoy argue that the U.N. Security Council never authorized military action against Yemen. The clashes came at a council meeting Wednesday where a U.N. envoy said promising peace efforts in Yemen slowed as tensions from the Gaza war rose — particularly  “the military escalation in the Red Sea.”