AThe United States and Great Britain launched airstrikes against the militants in response to attacks by Houthi rebels on merchant ships in the Red Sea. US President Joe Biden confirmed the attacks and spoke of “successful bombings”. They were “a direct response to the Houthis' unprecedented attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea”.
There was support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands. Biden threatened the Houthi rebels with further attacks: “I will not hesitate to order further action if necessary to protect our people and protect the free flow of international trade,” the US president said.
The US and its allies decided to take this step after diplomatic negotiations and careful consideration. “These attacks have endangered US personnel, civilian sailors and our partners, disrupting trade and threatening freedom of navigation,” he said. More than 2,000 ships were forced to detour thousands of miles.
It is the first time the Iran-backed group has come under attack since it began attacking international vessels in the Red Sea late last year. The Houthis see themselves as part of a self-proclaimed “axis of resistance” directed against Israel. In addition to Hamas, these include the Shiite Islamist Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
According to the US Department of Defense, the strikes in Yemen were carried out from the air and sea and only targeted military positions of Houthi militias. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that the strikes targeted drones, ballistic and cruise missiles, coastal radar and Houthi rebel air surveillance. Tomahawk fighters and cruise missiles were used.
A military base next to the airport in the capital Sana'a and a base near Dice airport were hit, several witnesses at the site told Reuters. The Houthi naval base in Hodeidah and military positions in Hajja province were also reportedly targeted in the attacks.
A US government official familiar with the matter said the attacks were carried out using aircraft, ships and submarines and targeted more than a dozen locations. According to insiders, the US does not want to escalate the situation after the attacks.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed that the country's Royal Air Force has carried out targeted airstrikes with the United States on Houthi rebel military positions in Yemen. “The exact results of the attacks in Yemen are still being assessed, but initial indications are that the Houthis' ability to threaten commercial shipping has suffered a setback,” the prime minister's statement said. According to the government, Great Britain used four Eurofighter Typhoon warplanes to carry out strikes on two military facilities owned by the Houthi rebels.
The leader of the Houthis said on Thursday that any US attack on the group would not be responded to. Houthi rebels fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday – the group's 27th attack since November 19, according to the US military.
British Prime Minister Sunak presented the green flag
According to media reports, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier convened his cabinet at short notice for a telephonic consultation. Sky News and “Guardian“Report. Sunak is said to have green-lighted such military action with the US.
Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom jointly issued a statement: “In response to the Houthi's continued unlawful, dangerous and disruptive attacks on shipping, including merchant ships. In the Red Sea, US and UK forces, backed by the Netherlands, Canada, Bahrain and Australia, carried out joint strikes against several targets in Yemen's Houthi-controlled areas under the UN Charter. based on the right of individual and collective self-defense.”
The Houthi rebels have announced that they will retaliate against a military offensive by the United States, Great Britain and other allies in Yemen. “The United States and Britain must be prepared to pay a high price,” a representative of Iran-backed Yemeni rebels said Friday night, according to Houthi television channel Al Masira. The rebels announced more attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said in a statement that it was monitoring airstrikes in Yemen with great concern and called for an end to incidents in the region. It refers to fighting in the Gaza Strip linked to attacks on merchant ships by Houthi rebels, whose fighters have declared solidarity with radical Islamist Hamas.
Iran has condemned the attack on the positions of Shiite Houthi militias in Yemen. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said: “We see this as a clear violation of Yemen's sovereignty and territorial integrity and a violation of international laws, norms and rights.” Iran sees itself as the protectorate of the Shiites. Along with the Sunnis, the Yemeni movement is the largest branch of Islam and a key ally of the Houthis.
Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon also condemned the attacks. “The U.S. occupation reaffirms that the U.S. is fully complicit in the atrocities and massacres perpetrated by Zionist enemies in the Gaza Strip and the region,” Hezbollah fighters say.
Signs of counterattacks by the US and its allies have been mounting recently. Britain's Defense Secretary Grant Shabbs has also warned repeatedly in recent days of the consequences if the attacks do not stop. US National Security Council communications director John Kirby warned the Houthis on Thursday that they would face consequences if they did not stop the attacks.
Houthi fighters intend to continue the offensive
Despite the airstrikes, the rebels continue to target ships bound for Israel. “The targeting of Israeli ships or ports in occupied Palestine is still there,” Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said on Friday. “There is no justification for this aggression against Yemen because there is no threat to international shipping in the Red Sea,” he added.
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