An RAF Typhoon aircraft at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, following its return after striking military targets in Yemen on January 12. Sgt Lee Goddard/UK MOD/Handout/Reuters
Joint strikes conducted by the US and the UK in Yemen on Thursday were “barbaric,” a senior Houthi official said Friday.
In a statement on X, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, head of the militant group’s supreme revolutionary committee, said the strikes were “barbaric, terrorist, and are a deliberate and unjustified aggression that reflects a brutal psychology.”
The attacks showed it was the United States “managing the aggression” in Gaza as well as in Yemen, he also claimed.
The strikes Thursday mark a significant response after the US and its allies warned the Iran-backed militant group it would bear the consequences of repeated drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, which the Houthis say are revenge against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.
Earlier, the Houthi deputy foreign minister warned the US and Britain would face severe repercussions for what he termed a blatant act of aggression.
Regional reaction: Iran, which is believed to have armed and trained the Houthis, also condemned the joint strikes, saying they violated international law and “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen,” and warning they would fuel regional instability.
Saudi Arabia, a close US military partner which is in a carefully-brokered truce with the Houthis following years of war, expressed deep concern over the security situation in the Red Sea and urged restraint.
Source link: https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-01-12-24/index.html