The risk of war breaking out across the Middle East
The US and UK strikes on Yemen have added to concerns about a wider conflict across the Middle East, after the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza was so fierce that it fueled several other skirmishes in the region, including in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.
Warships of the US-led coalition launch missiles against military targets in Yemen on the night of January 11, 2024. Photo: US Central Command
The latest US strike targeted a military radar site, coming a day after dozens of US and UK strikes targeted Houthi facilities in Yemen.
“This new attack will have a firm, strong and effective response,” Houthi spokesman Nasruldeen Amer told Al Jazeera.
Mohammed Abdulsalam, another Houthi spokesman, said the attacks, including a new attack on a military base in Sanaa, had no significant impact on the group's ability to intercept Israeli-linked ships passing through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea. However, the Houthis confirmed that five of their fighters were killed in the initial attacks.
In Sanaa, an official named Mohammed Samei said the attacks were an act of "brutal aggression" and marked a new phase in the war that Yemen has endured for 10 years.
The Pentagon said on Friday that the US and UK strikes had had a “good effect.” White House spokesman John Kirby said the initial strikes had affected the Houthis’ ability to store, launch and guide missiles or drones.
Mixed reactions at the United Nations
The United States and Britain defended the legality of strikes on Yemen's Houthi rebels at the United Nations Security Council on Friday over the militant group's attacks on ships in the Red Sea, but Russia and China accused the West of raising tensions in the region.
Russia called the US and UK operations disproportionate and illegal. At the Security Council, Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the US and UK "single-handedly caused the spillover of the conflict (in Gaza) to the entire region".
US-led coalition warplanes take off to attack military targets in Yemen on the night of January 11, 2024. Photo: US Central Command
Other countries also expressed concern that the US and UK strikes on 28 sites would inflame tensions in the region, already high following Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the strikes by the US and Britain, part of a US-led multinational naval coalition, were in accordance with international law and the UN Charter.
The operation was designed to “disrupt and degrade the Houthis’ ability to continue reckless attacks against commercial shipping and cargo vessels,” she said.
She added that the US would continue to pursue a diplomatic response while seeking to protect commercial shipping. More than 2,000 ships have been forced to divert from the Red Sea by Houthi attacks since November.
“We have taken limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defence alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada, Bahrain and Australia,” said Britain’s UN Ambassador Susan Woodward.
Zhang Jun, China’s UN envoy, said the Security Council did not authorize the use of force against Yemen. He said the US and UK operations “not only caused destruction of infrastructure and civilian casualties, but also led to increased security risks in the Red Sea.”
Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy to Yemen, on Saturday called for maximum restraint by "all concerned" and warned of an increasingly precarious situation in the region.
Huy Hoang (according to Reuters, AP, AJ)
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