Anti-poverty charity, Global Justice Now has criticised the US-UK strikes against Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
It stated that ‘Bomb first, think later’ is again the guiding principle for British and American policy in the Middle East.
This came as the U.S carried out an additional strike against Yemen’s Houthi forces on Saturday, January 13, 2023.
The latest strike, which the US said targeted a radar site, came a day after dozens of American and British strikes on the Iran-backed group’s facilities.
The U.S central command disclosed on X that the guided missile destroyer Carney used Tomahawk missiles in the follow-on strike on Saturday “to degrade the Houthis’ ability to attack maritime vessels, including commercial vessels.”
It noted, “Since Nov. 19, 2023, Iranian-backed Houthi militants have attempted to attack and harass vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden 28 times, stating that “These illegal incidents include attacks that have employed anti-ship ballistic missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and cruise missiles.”
The U.S central command added in the X post that “These strikes have no association with and are separate from Operation Prosperity Guardian, a defensive coalition of over 20 countries operating in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and Gulf of Aden.”
The Pentagon said Houthis later fired an anti-ship ballistic missile but it did not hit any ships.
Responding to the news, Nick Dearden, the Director of Global Justice Now, said that while the US and the UK accepted their actions “risk escalating attacks in the Red Sea” and “building support” for the Houthis, they “seem content to accept their path of death and destruction as collateral damage.”
He added that Yemen is a desperately poor country, and “the UK and US are complicit in its impoverishment, having backed Saudi’s deadly war attacks there for years.”
“The backing of Israel’s assault on Gaza has inflamed opinion across the whole region. Rather than engaging in diplomacy to end the bloodshed, the US and UK are pouring fuel on the fire, risking a deadly spiral of violence. They do not speak in our name and we call on all citizens to demand an end to this war.”
Nick Dearden
Houthi Vows “Strong And Effective Response” To Strikes
Nasreddin Amer, the Houthis’ Deputy Information Secretary, said that there were no injuries in the latest US strike in Yemen and vowed a “strong and effective response.”
“There were no injuries, no material nor human losses,” he said.
Houthis’ spokesperson, Mohammed Abdulsalam also told a news agency that US strikes in Yemen, including the latest one on a military base in Sana’a, had no significant impact on Houthis’ capabilities to continue preventing Israel-affiliated vessels from passing through the Red Sea.
Abdulsalam said that the US strike would not deter it from waging attacks on Israel-linked vessels in the Red Sea.
Meanwhile, Joint Staff Director of Operations, Lt Gen Douglas Sims said that Washington expects the Houthis to mount more attacks despite two nights in a row of being hit with Western missiles.
The senior US military official told reporters in a virtual meeting that the Houthis have already fired “at least one” missile in response to the US and UK attacks on 16 different positions with 150 munitions.
He said, “Their rhetoric has been pretty strong, and pretty high, and we expect that they will attempt some sort of retaliation. I would hope that they don’t retaliate, but we’re prepared in the event that they do.”
Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, said that he is concerned about war.
“The lessons of the past 25 years strongly militate against involving American troops in armed conflict in the Middle East,” he said.
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