US, UK attacks won’t go “unpunished” – Yemen’s Houthis warns

Emmanuel EjioforJanuary 23, 20241 Mins read248

Houthis Military Spokesman, Yahya Sarea.

The Houthi rebel military group in Yemen, has warned that the joint attack carried out by the United States and United Kingdom in Yemen on Monday, January 22, “will not go unanswered or unpunished.”

This was said in a statement issued by Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea on Tuesday, January 23, via X social media platform.

Sarea said the US and the UK carried out 18 airstrikes on Yemen on Monday: 12 on the capital, Sanaa; three in the port city of Hodeidah; two in the central province of Taiz; and one in Al-Bayda province.

The UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said earlier in the morning that the joint military action with the US against the Houthis was done to “further degrade the Houthis capacity to carry out these attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.”

The Red Sea is a global shipping route that lies between Africa and Asia. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked ships in the Red Sea, which have prompted London and Washington to take military actions against the group.

“Since we last took action 10 days ago, there have been over 12 attacks on shipping by the Houthis in the Red Sea,” said Cameron, a former prime minister of United Kingdom (from 2010 to 2016).

“These attacks are unacceptable, and what we have done will send the clearest possible message that we will continue to degrade their ability to carry out these attacks, while sending the clearest possible message that we back our words and warnings with action.”

The first UK-US joint strike against Houthis in Yemen took place on January 11, 2024. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had said then that the joint action against Houthis was “necessary” and “proportionate” to protect global shipping.

In the same line, President Joe Biden also said the joint action was a “direct response” to the Houthis attacks on Red Sea ships which the Potus said have affected international trade.

The Houthi Movement was formed in the late 1990s as a political-religious Shi’ite movement and have carried out several guerrilla wars against Yemen’s national army since inception. The military group controls Sanaa (Yemen’s capital) and the north-west of Yemen, including the Red Sea coastline. Houthis are alleged to be backed by Iran, and considers Israel an enemy.