Red Sea attacks will continue despite US and UK strikes, Houthi rebels warn, after more targets hit overnight
13 January 2024, 14:59
US and UK strikes in Yemen will not stop attacks in the Red Sea, Houthi rebels have warned, after more targets were hit by the American military overnight.
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The US claimed more vessels in the Red Sea were being targeted, prompting "follow-on action" early on Saturday by the Navy destroyer USS Carney using Tomahawk land attack missiles.
The strikes came a day after joint action by the UK and US led to 28 locations in Yemen being hit, striking more than 60 targets.
The United States said further strikes were necessary due to a radar site 'still presenting a threat to maritime traffic', according to one official.
But the Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, have warned they will not be deterred from attacking more rebels in the Red Sea.
Mohammed Abdulsalam, a top Houthi rebel, said there had been “no injuries, no material nor human losses” following the US attack.
He also vowed a "strong, effective" response.
On Friday, the US Navy warned American-flagged vessels to steer clear of areas around Yemen in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden for the next 72 hours after the US and Britain launched multiple air strikes targeting Houthi rebels.
Yemen's Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, have already warned of "severe retaliation" for the strikes, vowing to make the West pay for their "aggression".
The US President Joe Biden has insisted the strikes were necessary and "successful", as he vowed more strikes would take place if needed.
Read More: How Yemeni Houthi rebel attacks on ships in the Red Sea are hurting global trade
Mr Biden told reporters in Pennsylvania: "We will make sure that we respond to the Houthis if they continue this outrageous behaviour along with our allies."
Asked if he believes the Houthis are a terrorist group, Mr Biden responded: "I think they are."
The president, in a later exchange with reporters, said whether the Houthis are redesignated as such was "irrelevant".
Mr Biden also pushed back against some US politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, who said he should have sought congressional authorisation before carrying out the strikes.
"They're wrong, and I sent up this morning when the strikes occurred exactly what happened," he said.
The White House said in November that it was considering redesignating the Houthis as a terrorist organisation after they began their targeting of civilian vessels.
The administration formally delisted the Houthis as a "foreign terrorist organisation" and "specially designated global terrorists" in 2021, undoing a move by former president Donald Trump.
At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council late on Friday, Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the US, UK, and allies of "blatant armed aggression" against Yemen and warned that "if the escalation continues, the entire Middle East could encounter a catastrophe".
US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield insisted the attacks were in self-defence.
Ms Thomas-Greenfield said: "So de-escalation needs to happen, it needs to happen from the Houthis who are putting all of our shipping lines in jeopardy."
Iran condemned Friday's attack in a statement from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani, echoing UN concerns.
"Arbitrary attacks will have no result other than fuelling insecurity and instability in the region," he said.
