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Houthi rebels in Yemen have accused the US and UK of killing at least 16 people in their latest strikes aimed at deterring the Iran-backed militants from attacking shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthis made the claim on a rebel-controlled television channel after the western allies launched multiple strikes on Yemen, targeting 13 sites. The attacks destroyed eight Houthi drones in Yemen and over the Red Sea which “presented a threat to US and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region”, the US military’s Central Command said on Friday.
“These actions are necessary to protect our forces, ensure freedom of navigation, and make international waters safer and more secure for US coalition, and merchant vessels,” Centcom added.
The UK’s defence ministry said British forces participated in a joint operation “against Houthi military facilities to degrade their ability to persist with their attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden”.
The defence ministry said its assessment was ongoing, but that it had seen “no evidence to indicate that UK strikes have caused civilian casualties at this stage”. It added: “We take any claims of civilian casualties extremely seriously.”
The US military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Houthis’ claims that 16 people were killed. The rebels’ claims could not be independently verified.
US and UK forces have launched dozens of strikes against the Houthis’ military infrastructure since the rebels began mounting attacks against merchant shipping and US naval vessels in the Red Sea following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict last October.
The Houthis, an Islamist militant group that controls Sana’a, the Yemeni capital, and most of the poor Arab state’s northern regions, say their actions are in support of the Palestinians and in opposition to Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Attacks by the group, which is part of a network of Iranian-backed militant groups that make up the so-called axis of resistance against Israel and the US, have severely disrupted traffic through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes.
The Houthis have launched scores of assaults on ships, seizing at least one vessel, sinking another and killing at least three crew members. The threat posed by the rebels has caused many merchant vessels to avoid transiting through the Red Sea and raised shipping rates.
The US has accused Iran of supporting the Houthis, supplying the rebels with drone and missile technology and intelligence.
The Houthis have controlled Sana’a since ousting the government in 2014 as Yemen descended into civil war. The conflict drew in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which led an Arab coalition to fight the Houthis.
A fragile truce between Saudi Arabia, the Houthis and other Yemeni factions has been in place for more than two years. But the Israel-Hamas war has stalled a UN-backed peace process.
The rebels have vowed to continue their attacks on shipping as long as Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza.
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