NEW YORK: The UN Security Council on Friday affirmed Saudi Arabia’s “inherent right” to self-defense and condemned “in the strongest terms” continued Houthi attacks against the Kingdom, demanding that the Iran-backed militia immediately end its military escalation. Jerome Bonnafont, France’s permanent representative to the UN, said the 15 members expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia “in the face of attacks impacting civilians and civilian objects on its territory.”  The envoy, whose country holds the council presidency this month, said the attacks had struck civilian and energy infrastructure, and injured civilians, including women and children. Council members demanded that the Houthis “immediately cease their military escalation and their attacks impacting civilians and civilian objects,” and recalled the importance of respecting international humanitarian law. They warned that the Houthi offensive inside Yemen, the continued attacks on the Kingdom, and threats to international shipping, together with Houthi advances in the Bab Al-Mandab area, “risk further expanding the conflict, threatening maritime security and international trade, and undermining regional and international efforts to secure peace in Yemen.” Members again condemned attacks and threats against shipping in the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab, and stressed the need to act in line with international law, in particular the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and to uphold navigation rights and freedoms. Council members also condemned the Houthis’ military escalation within Yemen, expressing “grave concern” at reports of civilians killed and injured and at the displacement of at least 125,000 people across the country since the start of September, according to the UN. Continued fighting would “further exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in Yemen” and could drive more civilians from their homes, they said. They called on all parties to allow full, safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access, and renewed their demand for the “unconditional, safe, and immediate release” of detainees, including 73 UN personnel as well as staff from nongovernmental organizations, civil society groups, and diplomatic missions. Members stressed the importance of fully implementing Resolution 2216 of 2015 and subsequent resolutions. They called for practical cooperation, including with the Yemeni government, to prevent the Houthis from obtaining arms, technical assistance, training, financing, and other support needed “to carry out further attacks, and reminded all member states of their obligations under the targeted arms embargo. Reaffirming their support for the Yemeni government and their commitment to the country’s unity, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, council members said that “sustainable peace in Yemen cannot be achieved through violence, coercion, or use of force.”