2024-01-13 10:26:23
Tension continues in the Red Sea after the launch of a second military attack by the United States against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. During the night of this Friday, the US navy attacked a radar used by the rebels to prevent them from carrying out new launches against commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Who are the Houthis and how have the US and UK attacks on Yemen occurred?
The attack has been confirmed by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) and represents the second military action after the one carried out this Friday in a joint mission with the United Kingdom. The additional attacks carried out this past morning, however, have been smaller in scope than those launched the previous day.
The military action was deployed from the US naval destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) at 3:45 a.m. on January 13, Sana’a time (00:45 GMT), in which Tomahawk land attack missiles were used, as explained by CENTCOM. . The command has detailed that it was “a follow-up action against a specific military objective” associated with the attacks carried out yesterday designed to degrade the Houthis’ ability to attack ships.
The Houthi rebels had fired at least one ballistic missile at a commercial ship sailing in the Red Sea on Friday morning, after the US and British military forces launched 73 bombing raids against their military positions in several provinces in Yemen. The rebels claim that the attack caused five deaths in their ranks.
CENTCOM has not explained whether the second day of military actions against the rebels have been carried out alone by the US, or has had the support of other nations as was the case with previous operations.
The US has warned that the military operations on Thursday and Friday are completely separate from the measures taken by the military coalition made up of more than 20 nations under the name ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’, launched at the end from December.
The two actions are part of a strong escalation of military operations to stop attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, which the rebel militia says are carried out in support of the Palestinians under Israeli bombardment in Gaza.
British Defense Minister Grant Shapps has called on Iran to use its influence and pressure its Houthi allies to cease their actions, according to He declared this Saturday to the Daily Telegraph newspaper. Shapps has defended that the Government of Tehran can stop the actions of the Houthis, as well as influence other groups under their influence, such as the Lebanese Hezbollah or some in Iraq and Syria. “You must get these different organizations to stop because the world is running out of patience,” she said.
Attacks on 28 enclaves
The director of operations of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Douglas Sims, detailed in a statement that the previous day attacks were launched on 28 enclaves during an initiative that had the support of 10 countries.
“This was solely designed to go against capabilities that are impeding international freedom of navigation,” Sims added. The director added that Washington is “pretty confident” that they did a good job.
For his part, White House Security Council spokesman John Kirby has said that the US is not seeking a war in Yemen against the Houthis, supported by Iran. He added that the intention of the president, Joe Biden, is to reduce tension in the region. “We want their attacks to stop.”
This morning, Biden sent a letter to the US Congress to report the attack against the Houthis in Yemen, after receiving criticism for not having notified the Legislative Branch before the bombing.
The US president warned yesterday in a statement that “he will not hesitate to order additional measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”
#launches #attack #Houthis #Yemen