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11 months ago
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THE US could launch missile attacks on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels amid crisis in the ambushed Red Sea.
President Joe Biden is planning to directly intervene in the rebels’ attacks after it vowed to continue striking cargo ships in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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AFP
Biden has ordered to move USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier to the Gulf of Aden near the Bab al-Mandab strait where the Houthis rebels have been attacking cargo ships amid the Israel-Hamas war.
The move comes after the Iran-backed rebel group said it would continue missile and drone strikes in the narrow passage of the Red Sea in sympathy with the Palestinian people until Israel stops pounding Gaza.
Houthis called for the attacks despite the West warning a US-led coalition of a 10-country warship fleet would be sent to the region.
The coalition, named Operation Prosperity Guardian, will include the UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the Seychelles.
HMS Diamond, one of the Royal Navy’s most advanced warships, has been ordered to mobilise alongside the American and French vessels in the Red Sea.
The move was in response to the deteriorating security situation in the region – and to deter the Hamas ally with ballistic missiles, said the UK.
Senior Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti wrote on X / Twitter: “America’s announcement of the establishment of the Coalition of Shame will not prevent us from continuing our military operation.
“This is a moral and humanitarian position that we will not abandon, no matter the sacrifices it costs us.”
The Houthis said they would retaliate against any country that strikes Yemen directly, a senior official of the group told Iranian TV.
A US military official told The Telegraph: “We take the threat from the Houthis very seriously, but we’re not going to telegraph any movements in advance.
“US forces have the inherent right to self-defence, and if we do decide to take any action against the Houthis then we will do so at a time and place of our choosing.”
Since Israel started pounding Gaza to wipe out Hamas, the Iran-backed militia has been striking cargo ships in the narrowest and most perilous stretch of the Red Sea – the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Ships attempting to navigate the 20-mile-wide gap are forced to sail dangerously close to the coast of Yemen, where increasingly emboldened Houthi rebels are waiting to strike.
The Strait forms the strategic link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
Roughly 10 per cent of all global trade gets through passage.
More recently, oil giant BP paused all of its shipments through the Red Sea fearing attacks from Yemen’s rebels.
It said the decision was caused by a “deteriorating security situation” in the Middle East as fears grow the move will send prices soaring.
BP said: “The safety and security of our people and those working on our behalf is BP’s priority.
“In light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea, BP has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea.
“We will keep this precautionary pause under ongoing review, subject to circumstances as they evolve in the region.”
The world could see oil price hike due to concerns that the global oil supply chain could be severely disrupted if the attacks continue.
Several other freight companies have been suspending their operations after being targeted by the terror group who have turned the area into an active warzone.
An estimated £1trillion of trade is said to be at risk if the attacks continue.
Atlas Photo Archive/UK MoD/CPO O
Oil giant stopped all its shipments through the Red Sea fearing a Houthi attack
Houthis attacking Galaxy cargo ship last month
The moment Houthi rebels stormed a cargo ship last month
EPA
English (US)