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The US has been warning, threatening and waiting for months – now it has happened: On Friday evening, American, British and Dutch troops attacked positions of the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The attack is the strongest military response to the ongoing campaign by the Houthis, who have used drones and missiles to attack merchant ships in the Red Sea since the outbreak of the Gaza war. How this escalation came about.
Who are the Houthi rebels?
The Houthi movement, also known as Ansarallah (Supporters of God), is a party in Yemen’s civil war that has been raging for almost a decade. It was founded in the 1990s by leader Hussein al-Houthi.
Iran supports the rebels. According to a 2021 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Iran has provided the group with weapons and technology, including naval mines, ballistic and cruise missiles, and drones.
The Houthis are part of Iran’s so-called ‘Axis of Resistance’, an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias. Along with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis are one of three prominent Iranian-backed militias.
Why are they attacking Western merchant ships in the Red Sea?
Since November, Houthi rebels have carried out 27 missile and drone attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Because: When the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, the Houthis declared their support for Hamas and said they would attack any ship entering or leaving Israel.
The Houthis’ attacks could be aimed at inflicting economic damage on Israel’s allies in the hope that they will pressure Israel to stop its bombardment of Gaza.
What does this mean for world trade?
The situation in the Red Sea has serious consequences for the global economy. The Suez Canal alone carries 12 percent of world trade and 30 percent of global container traffic.
Four of the world’s five largest shipping companies – Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM Group and Evergreen – and oil giants such as BP have suspended shipping through the Red Sea amid fears of Houthi attacks.
The attacks could force the ships to take a much longer route around Africa. This could increase transport costs. Companies could pass on the higher transport costs of their goods to consumers. The result: the goods can become even more expensive than they already are.
How will the US and its allies respond?
The US government led by Joe Biden, 81, has repeatedly condemned the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and established a naval task force to hold them at bay. A task force involving the US, Britain and other allies is patrolling the Red Sea.
The US and Britain carried out airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen on Friday evening. The White House confirms this. This is a “direct response to the Houthis’ unprecedented attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.” Several targets were attacked by fighter jets, among others.
What weapons are used for fighting?
The US fights with, among other things, the Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM). These are low-flying cruise missiles that can fire a conventional 500-kilogram warhead hundreds of kilometers inland. The Tomahawks are highly accurate and because they are GPS guided, they can change targets or course if necessary after launch, according to a US Navy fact sheet. They are fired from the guided missile submarine USS Florida.
According to the Pentagon, in addition to the USS Florida, American warships have also used Tomahawks against the Houthis. The backbone of the U.S. Navy’s surface fleet is the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, with nearly 70 in service.
Britain fought the Houthi rebels with Typhoon fighter jets on Friday evening. The twin-engine, single-pilot jets are an important part of the British air fleet. According to a Royal Air Force brochure, they fly at supersonic speeds (up to Mach 1.8) and at altitudes of up to 16,764 meters.
Shashank Joshi, military editor of the renowned British magazine ‘The Economist’, wants to know more about the use of Oerlikon weapons on the British warship HMS Diamond. The cruiser initially used French-Italian Aster anti-missiles against Houthi drones, Joshi said from unspecified military circles.
Is the situation in the Middle East now escalating?
When Biden ordered airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, he took a step that now jeopardizes one of the key objectives of his own Middle East policy: preventing a regional war. It remains to be seen how much the situation in the Red Sea and Yemen will affect the rest of the region.
Some Western allies in the Middle East, including Gulf states Qatar and Oman, had expressed concern that attacks on the Houthis were spiraling out of control and pushing the region into a wider war with other Iranian allies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Tehran would pour. -supported militias in Syria and was able to invade Iraq.
The Houthis responded to the attacks with a statement that “the US and Britain must be prepared to pay a high price and face the dire consequences of their aggression.”
Iran and the terrorist group Hamas have also strongly condemned the military attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
