Raids by the US and Great Britain were conducted on the Yemeni capital Sana'a, as reported by Al Jazeera which reports Houthi sources. Attacks confirmed by the United States and the United Kingdom saying they hit Houthi targets in Yemen from air and surface platforms, including fighter jets. According to two US officials, at least 30 targets were hit in at least 10 locations, CNN reports.
Austin: “Stop attacks or worse consequences”
“Today, the armies of the United States and the United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand, conducted further attacks against military targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. These attacks,” he said U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin – are intended to disrupt and further degrade the capabilities of Iran-backed Houthi militias to conduct their reckless and destabilizing attacks against U.S. and international vessels legally transiting the Red Sea.”
“Coalition forces,” Austin said, “have targeted 13 locations associated with the Houthis' deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defense systems and radars. This collective action sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will continue to suffer further consequences if they do not end their attacks illegal against international ships and naval vessels. We will not hesitate to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world's most critical waterways.”
Shapps: “Attacks on Houthis are not escalation”
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said the attacks by joint UK and US forces on Houthi targets in Yemen did not constitute an escalation. The Guardian reports it. It is Britain's “duty to protect innocent lives and preserve freedom of navigation” following “illegal and unacceptable” attacks on shipping, he stressed.
“This is why the Royal Air Force has engaged in a third wave of proportionate and targeted strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen. We have acted alongside our US allies, with the support of many international partners, to self-defense and in accordance with international law“, he added. Shapps stressed that the attacks were not an escalation: “I am confident that our latest attacks have further degraded the capabilities of the Houthis.”
Tajani: “Threats to Red Sea traffic are a threat to our system”
“40% of Italian GDP comes from exports, and a good part of exports pass through the Red Sea. So threats to commercial traffic in that sea are a threat to our system.” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said this at the 'readers' party' of Il Giornale in Abano Terme, speaking about the mission in the Red Sea. For Tajani, the presence of European ships could act as a deterrent against new attacks by Yemen's Houthi militiamen.
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