– After the Gaza war has lasted for a hundred days, I cannot see that there would suddenly be an escalation at this time, when it has not happened before, says Tor Wennesland. news meets the UN’s special coordinator for the peace process in the Middle East at his office in the UN building in Jerusalem. A few hours earlier, the Americans and British attacked the Houthi militia in Yemen on the night of Friday. Five people were killed and six others wounded, according to a spokesperson for the Houthis. ANSWER: Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, speaks while holding a rifle in the air. Supporters of the Houthi militia demonstrated to condemn airstrikes launched by the United States and Britain. Photo: KHALED ABDULLAH / Reuters The airstrikes against the Houthi militia occurred after several warnings to stop the attacks against shipping traffic in the Red Sea. The attack from the United States and Great Britain has led to strong reactions. Turkish President Erdogan is critical of the attack. “A sea of blood” In a statement, Erdogan says that “the US and Great Britain are trying to turn the Red Sea into a sea of blood”. – People become uneasy if parties who are central to guaranteeing a solution to the conflict we have in Gaza become involved in another conflict in the region. In addition, this is a conflict that does not affect Israelis or Palestinians, but international trade routes. So it is a different type of warfare and it is problematic and completely unacceptable, says Wennesland. The UN’s special envoy does not believe in a major escalation, but nevertheless fears that the military intervention could be misinterpreted in the Middle East. – It can easily be interpreted as that one is looking for the countries that are clearly fighting against Israel, says Wennesland. Great war Another risk is that accidents happen that escalate the conflicts. – It is military activity and it is clear that the longer that type of activity lasts, the greater the risk of an accident or something very unexpected happening that leads to a completely different dynamic, but so far this has not happened, says Wennesland. He nevertheless explains why he does not believe the conflict in the Red Sea will escalate into a major war. – We have seen that there is military activity, not only in the Red Sea between Israel and Hezbollah, but also in Iraq, but there is no extensive warfare, says Wennesland. – What is being done now to prevent a spread of warfare? – After all, there is extensive diplomatic work being done. Now the USA has been very active in the area with Blinken. The UN is active in this area as well, I am active, the Secretary-General is in contact with the parties in the Middle East all the time, he says. THE OFFICE: news met Tor Wennesland in his office in the UN building in Jerusalem. Photo: Torstein Bøe / news UN Secretary-General António Guterres asks all parties to avoid escalation, following the airstrike carried out by the United States and Great Britain against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. – Escalation should be avoided for the sake of peace and stability in the Red Sea and the surrounding region, says a spokesperson for the UN chief. – It is not possible to predict, but what I am sure of is that there is no interest in letting this conflict blow out of control and spread or become more intensive with the involvement of other states, says Wennesland. – It remains to be seen Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide says Norway was not aware that the attack came just last night, but he was aware that it was an option that they were planning for. He emphasizes that the Houthi militia has been repeatedly warned that this could happen if they continued the attacks against cargo ships in the Red Sea. – Does Norway approve of this type of action? State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson (Ap). Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / news – We share very much of the approach with our American friends and allies and the other countries. Innocent parties are affected, and we have to put an end to that. We had hoped and worked for it to end in a different way, but now we are here. Hopefully this will help the attacks to end, but that remains to be seen, unfortunately, says State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson (Ap).
ttn-69
Norwegian UN special envoy does not believe in a major war – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
