The US and Great Britain, with the support of other allies, have again attacked Houthi militia positions in Yemen. Eight locations of the Iran-backed Houthis were attacked in a coordinated military strike, the allies said in a joint statement released by the Pentagon. The targets of the attacks included an underground weapons depot, missile systems and Houthi launch pads.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas, the militia has repeatedly attacked freighters with alleged ties to Israel. According to the Pentagon, there have been more than thirty ships since mid-November. Given the dangers, major shipping companies are increasingly avoiding the shortest sea route between Asia and Europe through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. This is now having a significant impact on the global economy.
The stated goal of the USA and its allies is to weaken the military capabilities of the Houthis. A senior US Army official said the latest strike against the Islamist militants was believed to have been successful. According to him, Tomahawk cruise missiles and fighter jets were used. Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands supported with intelligence information and surveillance measures.
The joint statement said: “Our goal remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea, but let us reiterate our warning to the Houthi leadership: We will not hesitate to protect human lives and the free flow of the “To defend trade on one of the most important waterways in the world (…).”
Second military strike in two weeks
This is the second coordinated military strike of this magnitude in just under two weeks. On the night of January 12th, there had already been a similar military action by the USA and Great Britain with the support of allies: At that time, almost 30 Houthi positions were attacked. In the days that followed, further independent attacks by the US military on Houthi positions followed. The militant Islamist group continues to attack ships in the Red Sea. On Monday she also claimed an attack on the US freighter “Ocean Jazz”. However, the Pentagon rejected this claim as false.
The situation in the Middle East was also the subject of a telephone call between US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the National Security Council in Washington announced. Specifically, it was about the events in the Red Sea and the need to maintain the common, international strategy to weaken the Houthis. It was only on Thursday that Biden made it clear that he wanted to continue the attacks against the Houthis – even if they had not yet stopped the militia. The day before, the USA had placed the Houthis on the list of global terrorist organizations.
