Another escalation began in the Middle East tonight. The USA and the UK carried out air strikes on military targets of the rebel Houthi movement ("Ansar Allah") in response to numerous attacks on ships in the Red Sea, which the Houthis began to carry out after a new round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The readiness of the USA and the UK for attacks became known the night before, when a representative of the Houthis said that the movement would give a response in the event of military action against Yemen.
Strike on Yemen
According to various sources, the Yemeni cities of Sanaa, Saada, Hodeidah, Taiz and Dhamar came under attack, or more precisely, "radar facilities, missile platforms, as well as coastal observation points" of the Houthis, Al Jazeera reports. The locations of missiles and drones were also under fire. The attacks were carried out with Tomahawk cruise missiles from aircraft, as well as ships and submarines. The US side claims that all planned targets were hit.
The US Air Force clarified that the strikes were carried out on more than 60 targets at 16 Houthi sites. The report notes that the operation involved "military and naval strike and support assets of the coalition from the [Middle East] region".
There is no information about casualties at this time.
International reaction
According to US President Joe Biden, the USA and the UK were supported in the strikes by Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Bahrain.
Iran strongly condemned the attack on the Houthis: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani described the incident as a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen, that is, a violations of international law. The diplomat also warned that a strike on Yemen would only increase instability in the region.
Saudi Arabia called for restraint: the Kingdom's Foreign Ministry stated the need to maintain stability in the region and the inadmissibility of escalation.
Russia has requested a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Yemen. According to the Russian Permanent Mission to the UN, it will be held today, January 12.
Houthi response
Despite the attack by the United States and the UK, the rebel movement said that it does not intend to stop attacks on ships related to Israel in the Red Sea.
"We confirm that there is no justification for aggression against Yemen, just as there is no threat to international navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas. Strikes have been and will be carried out only on Israeli ships and on ships heading to the ports of occupied Palestine",
the representative of the movement Mohammed Abdulsalam said.
