Houthis vow to keep up Red Sea attacks after US-led strikes
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The Houthis warned that attacks on ships headed to Israel will continue.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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RIYADH – The chief negotiator for Yemen’s Houthis said on Jan 15 the group’s stance has not changed since US-led air strikes on its positions
US and British warplanes, ships and submarines on Jan 11 launched dozens of air strikes across Yemen in retaliation for Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, which the Iran-aligned movement cast as a response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza
“Attacks to stop Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of the occupied Palestine will continue,” Mr Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters.
He said the group is still demanding an end to the war in Gaza, and humanitarian aid deliveries to the north and south of the Gaza Strip.
“We do not want escalation in the Red and Arabian seas,” Mr Abdulsalam said.
It is the United States and Britain that are militarising the Red Sea with their warships, he added.
“Our communication... continues to clarify our position, and confirm that all commercial ships in the Red and Arabian seas are safe, with the exception of Israeli ships or those heading to Israel, only and only,” he said.
Israel has regularly denied having links to vessels that have come under attack in the Red Sea, and several international shipping lines have paused deliveries
“Our position comes from religious, moral and humanitarian principles... as well as in response to the calls of the people of Palestine... to support the oppressed in the Gaza Strip,” Mr Abdulsalam said.
The US military said on Jan 14 a US fighter jet shot down an anti-ship cruise missile which the Houthis fired at the USS Laboon in the southern Red Sea. “There were no injuries or damage reported,” the US Central Command added.
The Houthi movement controls much of Yemen after nearly a decade of war against a US-backed and Saudi-led coalition.
The UN Security Council on Jan 10 demanded that the Houthis immediately end attacks on ships in the Red Sea and implicitly endorsed a US-led task force that has been defending vessels while cautioning against escalating tensions. REUTERS
