The United States and the United Kingdom attack Houthi targets in 13 areas of Yemen

First modification: 02/03/2024 – 23:40Last modification: 02/03/2024 – 23:49

3 min

The governments of the United States and the United Kingdom carried out attacks this Saturday, February 3, against targets linked to the Houthis in Yemen, including weapons storage facilities and missile systems, among others, according to the Pentagon.

The United Kingdom confirmed its participation in this wave of “proportionate and targeted attacks” against Iran-linked Houthi militants in Yemen.

“The Royal Air Force engaged in a third wave of proportionate and targeted strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen. We acted alongside our US allies, with the support of many international partners, in self-defence and in accordance with international law,” he said. Defense Minister Grant Shapps in a statement.

For his part, the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, reported that the offensive also had the support of Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

“This collective action sends a clear message to the Houthis that they will continue to endure further consequences if they do not end their illegal attacks on international shipping and warships,” Austin said in a statement.

These bombings occur after the United States Central Command (Centcom) announced that it had carried out attacks this Saturday, around 7:20 p.m. Sana'a time (4:20 p.m. GMT), against six anti-ship cruise missiles “prepared to be launched into the Red Sea “, according to a statement.

The American and British bombings against Houthi targets in Yemen were initiated by the attacks that this rebel group, backed by Iran, has carried out since November 19 against commercial ships in the Red Sea, through which nearly 15% of world maritime trade transits. .

Yemen's Houthi rebels, allies of Iran and enemies of Israel, threatened this key route after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, saying they are only targeting ships heading to Israel.

The Houthis are a political-military movement formed in the 1990s in northern Yemen. Unlike two-thirds of the Yemeni population, who are Sunni Muslims, the Houthis belong to a Shiite branch of Islam.

After years of fighting, the group took control of Sana'a, the country's capital, with military and financial support from Iran, in September 2014.

Read alsoWho are the Houthis and why is the Red Sea key to the conflict in the Middle East?

Houthis confirm attacks

The Houthis confirmed the new wave of bombings by the United States and the United Kingdom against the capital, Sanaa and four other provinces controlled by the rebels.

Al Masira television, spokesperson for the Houthis, claimed that there was an “American-British aggression against the capital.” The EFE agency said it had confirmed a series of explosions against military barracks in Attan, Al Nahdain and Al Hafa, west, south and east of Sana'a, respectively.

Al Masira stated that other areas attacked were the provinces of Hajjah (northwest), Dhamar (east), Al Bayda (center) and Taiz (southwest), in a new large-scale air campaign since Washington and London launched their first action against Yemen, January 12.

Crisis in the Middle East

This Saturday's bombings in Yemen occur a day after the United States attacked positions of pro-Iran militias in Iraq and Syria, an offensive that, according to the Iraqi Government and the NGO Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, has left at least 45 dead in Yemen. both countries.

Washington's recent airstrikes against Syria, Iraq and Yemen have raised alarm bells throughout the Middle East, where several countries have already warned that this escalation could have “devastating consequences.”

Read alsoUS bombs militias in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for attack in Jordan