(AFP) – Iran-backed Huthis on Tuesday claimed their third attack on American warships in 48 hours, despite US strikes targeting the rebel group in Yemen that have sparked mass protests. The Huthis said on Telegram they had targeted the USS Harry S. Truman carrier group with missiles and drones, making the attack the “third in the past 48 hours” in the northern Red Sea. A US defence official said the Huthis “continue to communicate lies and disinformation,” adding the Iran-backed group is “well known for false claims minimizing the results of our attacks while exaggerating the successes of theirs”. A US Air Force official earlier said it was “hard to confirm” the attacks claimed by the Huthis as the rebels were missing their targets “by over 100 miles”.
Huthi media said fresh US strikes hit Yemen on Monday after tens of thousands demonstrated, many waving assault rifles, daggers or Korans, chanting “Death to America, death to Israel!” in the capital Sanaa. There were also large crowds in Saada, the birthplace of the Huthi movement, and demonstrations in Dhamar, Hodeida and Amran, footage from the rebels’ Al-Masirah TV station showed. “Yemen will never back down — we defy the Americans, we defy the Zionists,” said a man shouting slogans to the Sanaa crowd, who chanted back: “We are the men of the Prophet.” The protests came after Washington launched a fresh campaign of air strikes on Yemen beginning Saturday, aiming to pressure the Huthis into ending their attacks on Red Sea shipping.
The Huthis have targeted ships traveling the major trade route since the start of the Gaza war, claiming solidarity with Palestinians. The US strikes killed 53 people and wounded 98 on Saturday, according to the Huthi-run health ministry. The rebels’ Al-Masirah channel and Saba press agency reported new US strikes on Monday night in the Hodeida and Al-Salif regions, while the Huthi Ansarollah website said strikes hit Sanaa early Tuesday. Washington has vowed to keep hitting Yemen until the Huthis stop attacking shipping, with US President Donald Trump warning he will hold Iran accountable for any further attacks carried out by the Tehran-sponsored group. “Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible,” Trump posted on social media. Iran responded by calling his statement “belligerent”.
At the rally in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, giant flags punctuated a sea of demonstrators at Al-Sabeen Square, which has hosted large-scale demonstrations every week throughout the Gaza war. Just two days ago, the Huthi-controlled capital was hit by heavy strikes, including in northern districts frequented by the rebels’ leadership. They were the first US strikes since Trump returned to office in January, and came despite a pause in the Huthis’ attacks coinciding with a ceasefire in the Gaza war. The Pentagon said it had struck 30 targets in Yemen so far and vowed to use “overwhelming lethal force” to “restore freedom of navigation” in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz told ABC News that Saturday’s strikes “targeted multiple Huthi leaders and took them out”. The Huthis have not responded to Waltz’s claim.
The United Nations urged both sides to “cease all military activity,” while expressing concern over Huthi threats to resume the Red Sea attacks. Before this weekend’s targeting of the US carrier group, the Huthis had not claimed any attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since January 19, when the ceasefire in Gaza began. However, the group had threatened to resume its campaign over Israel’s blocking of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory. It said it would “move to additional escalatory options” if the “American aggression” continued. Trump, meanwhile, has warned the Yemeni group that “hell will rain down upon you” if it did not stop its attacks. He has also broadened the warning to include Iran, saying it would “suffer the consequences” for shots fired by the Huthis. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier condemned the US strikes and said Washington had “no authority” to dictate Tehran’s foreign policy.
A database set up by ACLED, a non-profit monitor, showed more than 130 Huthi attacks against warships, commercial vessels, and Israeli and other targets since October 19, 2023. While the Red Sea trade route normally carries around 12 percent of world shipping traffic, Huthi attacks have forced many companies into costly detours around southern Africa. The United States had already launched several rounds of strikes on Huthi targets under former president Joe Biden. Israel has also struck Yemen, most recently in December, after Huthi missile fire towards Israeli territory. The rebels control large swathes of Yemen, including most of its population centres, after ousting the internationally recognised government from Sanaa. They have been at war with a Saudi-led coalition backing the government since 2015, a conflict that has triggered a major humanitarian crisis. Fighting has largely been on hold since a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022, but the peace process has stalled following the Huthi attacks over Gaza.
© 2024 AFP
