Tension spread in Yemeni territory this Saturday, with a new round of US airstrikes that hit several towns in the west of the country, including taiz airport, the third most populated city. Washington seeks to challenge the military capacity of the Houthis to stop their attacks in the Red Sea, which have put this important maritime trade route in check in response to the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
According to the US command that operates in the Middle East, Centcom, the attack is “a follow-up action” and comes a day after the joint bombing of Washington and London on Thursday night. US forces reportedly launched more than 70 shells to hit military targets, radars and warehouses in the coastal area of the west of the country, under Houthi control.
“(The attack did not cause) injuries or material or human losses,” he said. Nasreddin Amer, undersecretary of information for the Houthis to the Al Jazeera radio station. Amer promised a “strong and effective response” to the bombings, which on Thursday caused the death of five combatants. The US attacks have spread fear among Yemenis, who are recovering from a fragile ceasefire after a brutal decade of war between Houthis and forces backed by Saudi Arabia. The conflict caused more than 337,000 deaths and famine throughout the country. Tens of thousands of Yemenis took to the streets on Friday to protest the US and British bombings, while reaffirming their support for the Palestinians and against Israel.
The American president, Joe Biden, warned on Friday that it is willing to continue bombing Yemen if the Houthis “continue this outrageous behavior.” Biden described “terrorists” attacks against commercial ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea, although Washington removed the militants from the official list of terrorist organizations in 2021. White House spokesman, John Kirbysaid that the attacks are aimed at weakening the organization’s military capacity and that Washington has no interest in opening a war front with Yemen.
The attacks have drawn condemnation from Middle Eastern governments, which believe they only add tension to fears of a regional climbing. On Friday afternoon, hundreds of Iranians protested against the bombings in front of the British Embassy in Tehran, where the attacks are perceived as a provocation against Iran for its support of the Houthis. “Yemen’s measures to support the women and children of Gaza and to confront the genocide of the Israeli regime are admirable,” declared the Iranian Foreign Minister on his social networks. Hossein Amirabdollahian.