2024-03-07 12:28:31
Washington confirmed Thursday that it will continue to target the Houthis, who control large areas in northern Yemen, most notably Sanaa, following three crew members of a ship targeted by the Houthis were killed in the Gulf of Aden. The US Central Command said in a statement, “An anti-ship ballistic missile was launched from the areas controlled by the Houthis in Yemen, who are supported by Iran, towards the MV True Confidence ship.” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters, “We will continue to hold them accountable.” We call on governments around the world to do the same.”
Published on: 03/07/2024 – 13:28
5 minutes
After three crew members of a ship he targeted were killed The Houthis In the Gulf of Aden, the United States vowed to “hold accountable” the Ansar Allah Houthis. This was their first strike that resulted in casualties since the start of their naval attacks once morest the backdrop of the war in Gaza.
She said US Central Command (Centcom) said in a statement published at dawn on Thursday that “an anti-ship ballistic missile was launched from the areas controlled by the Houthis in Yemen, who are supported by Iran, towards the ship ‘MV True Confidence’, a cargo carrier owned by Liberia and flying the Barbados flag, while it was crossing the Gulf of Aden.” .
She added: “The missile hit the ship, and the multinational crew reported the deaths of three people, and at least four injuries, three of whom are in critical condition, and the ship was also severely damaged.”
An American official had previously reported that the crew had “at least two dead and six wounded, and the ship was abandoned.”
In Manila, the Ministry of Migrant Labor confirmed Thursday that two Filipinos were among the three dead, noting that at least two others were seriously injured.
Since November 19, the Iranian-backed Houthis have been carrying out attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea that they suspect are linked to Israel or heading to its ports. They say that this comes in support of the Gaza Strip, which has been witnessing a war between Hamas and Israel since October 7. October.
In an attempt to deter them and “protect” maritime navigation, American and British forces have been launching strikes on their positions since January 12. The US Army alone carries out strikes from time to time that it says target sites or missiles and drones prepared for launch, the latest of which was on Sunday.
“We will continue to hold them accountable.”
Following the recent strike, Washington confirmed that it would continue to target the Houthis, who control large areas in northern Yemen, most notably Sanaa.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters, “We will continue to hold them accountable. We call on governments around the world to do the same.”
He added that the Houthi attacks on ships “not only disrupted international trade, did not only disrupt freedom of navigation in international waters, and did not only expose sailors to danger, but have now killed a number of them.”
Following Western strikes, the Houthis began targeting American and British ships in the region, considering that the interests of both countries had become “legitimate targets.”
The Indian Navy announced on its account on the “X” platform on Thursday that its warship had rescued the 21 crew members, including one Indian, and evacuated them to neighboring Djibouti, and published scenes from the rescue operation.
A member of the Indian team explained in the video that eight people were evacuated on board a helicopter, while the others, including those seriously injured, were evacuated via lifeboats and then transferred to hospitals in Djibouti.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack, confirming that the ship was American.
A statement read by their military spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Sarie, said that the operation targeted the American “True Confidence” ship in the Gulf of Aden, with a number of suitable sea missiles, stressing that the hit was “accurate” and that this led to “a fire breaking out in it.”
Although the British maritime security company Ambrey indicated that the ship was owned by an American company, the American official confirmed that it was owned by Liberia.
The Houthis confirmed that the operation came “following the ship’s crew rejected warning messages from the Yemeni naval forces,” which is the term the rebels use to describe their naval forces.
American strikes
Centcom said in its statement that this is “the fifth anti-ship ballistic missile that the Houthis have launched in the past two days.”
The Minister of Defense in the internationally unrecognized Houthi government, Major General Mohammed Al-Atefi, warned the United States and Britain on Tuesday that “what is coming will be more painful and painful, exceeding all expectations in naval confrontations.”
In a separate statement, Centcom announced at dawn on Thursday that it had launched strikes on Wednesday evening “ once morest two drones in an area controlled by the Houthis in Yemen,” considering that they were posing “an imminent threat to commercial ships and US Navy ships in the region.”
The latest developments come following the “Rubimar” ship, flying the Belizean flag and managed by a Lebanese company, sank on Saturday, carrying 22,000 tons of sulfur ammonium phosphate fertilizer, which threatens to cause an environmental disaster in the Red Sea and Yemen, according to experts.
Water seeped into the ship over a period of 12 days since a missile attack carried out by the Houthis on February 18 led to damage to its hull and the evacuation of its crew to Djibouti.
The Houthi attacks affect shipping traffic in the strategic region through which 12% of global trade passes, and caused a doubling of the cost of transportation, as a result of shipping companies diverting their ships to the Cape of Good Hope, in the far south of Africa, which prolongs the journey between Asia and Europe for at least a week.
France 24/AFP
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