Houthi rebels vow retaliation after US, UK strikes in Yemen

Dubai: Houthi leaders have vowed retaliation after the US and the UK launched military strikes against rebel targets in Yemen, raising the prospect of a wider conflict in a region already beset by Israel’s war in Gaza.

The bombardment – launched in response to a campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea – killed at least five people and wounded six, the Houthis said.

The US said the strikes targeted more than 60 sites in 16 different locations across Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. It remained unclear how extensive the damage was, though the Houthis said at least five sites, including airfields, had been attacked.

As the bombing lit the predawn sky over multiple sites held by the Iranian-backed rebels, it forced the world to again focus on Yemen’s years-long war, which began when the Houthis seized the country’s capital, Sanaa in 2014.

Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea, saying they were avenging Israel’s offensive in Gaza. However, they have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperilling shipping in a key route for global trade and energy shipments.

The Houthis’ military spokesman, General Yahya Saree, said in a recorded address that the strikes would “not go unanswered or unpunished.”

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which oversees Middle Eastern waters, reported on Friday evening a new missile attack off Yemen. It said the missile was fired toward a ship some 140 kilometres south-east of Aden, Yemen. The ship reported no injuries or damage, the organisation said.

Saudi Arabia, which supports the government-in-exile that the Houthis are fighting, quickly sought to distance itself from the attacks as it seeks to manage a delicate relationship with Iran and a maintain a ceasefire it has in Yemen.

In Saada, the Houthis’ stronghold in north-west Yemen, protesters gathered for a rally on Friday, denouncing the US and Israel. Another drew thousands in Sanaa, the capital.

In a post to X, the US Central Command released footage of their operation against Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.

Houthis now control territory that is home to some two-thirds of Yemen’s population of 20 million. War and misgovernment have made Yemen one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, and the UN World Food Program considers the vast majority of Yemen’s people as food-insecure.

Yemen has been targeted by US military action over the last four American presidencies. A campaign of drone strikes began under President George W. Bush to target the local affiliate of al-Qaeda, attacks that have continued under the Biden administration. Meanwhile, the US has launched raids and other military operations amid the ongoing war in Yemen.

That war began when the Houthis swept through the country in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition that included the United Arab Emirates launched a war to back Yemen’s exiled government in 2015, quickly morphing the conflict into a regional confrontation as Iran backed the Houthis with weapons and other support.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Who are the Houthis? The Yemen-based militants behind the Red Sea attacks

The conflict has in recent years slowed as the Houthis maintain their grip on the territory they hold. In March, Saudi Arabia reached a Chinese-mediated deal to restart relations with Iran in the hope of ultimately withdrawing from the war.

However, an overall deal has yet to be reached, likely sparking Saudi Arabia’s expression Friday of “great concern” over the airstrikes.

“While the kingdom stresses the importance of preserving the security and stability of the Red Sea region … it calls for restraint and avoiding escalation,” its foreign ministry said in a statement.

Iran condemned the attack in a statement from a foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani.

“Arbitrary attacks will have no result other than fuelling insecurity and instability in the region,” he said.

Judges and parties stand up during a hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. The United Nations’ top court opened hearings Thursday into South Africa’s allegation that Israel’s war with Hamas amounts to genocide against Palestinians, a claim that Israel strongly denies. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning called on nations not to escalate tensions in the Red Sea, while Russia condemned the strikes as “illegitimate from the point of view of international law.”

Oman, long a regional interlocutor for the US and the West with Iran, also condemned the airstrikes, calling the attack a “great concern while Israel continued its brutal war and siege of the Gaza Strip without accountability or punishment.”

AP