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Yemen’s Houthis will now expand attacks in the Red Sea area to include US ships, vowing to continue attacks after the US and UK launched heavy air strikes in the country last week targeting Houthi rebels.
Houthi spokesperson Nasruldeen Amer while speaking to Al Jazeera said that British and American ships are now “legitimate targets” owing to the attacks launched by the two countries last week.
“The ship doesn’t necessarily have to be heading to Israel for us to target it. It is enough for it to be American…The United States is on the verge of losing its maritime security.”
Houthis have been at war with the Saudi-led coalition in charge of Yemen for years but have now focused their sights on the Red Sea in order to show support for Palestinian group Hamas, Reuters reported.
Notably, Israel has launched an offensive in Gaza in a bid to destroy Hamas which controls most of the region. US and UK have designated Hamas a terrorist group after its fighters stormed into an Israeli town on October 7 and killed over 1,200 people while taking 240 hostages.
Yemen’s government has criticised the Houthis’ attacks, calling for the group to be designated a terrorist organisation and noting that it is using the plight of Palestinians to further its agenda, Bloomberg reported, citing the Saba news agency.
The Houthis’ attacks are leading to higher shipping costs as ships avoiding the area have to sail thousands of miles further around Africa instead. Notably, the Red Sea route accounts for around 12% of the world’s shipping traffic and the longer African route which various shipping companies have now opted to leads to adding around nine days to the journey, reported Reuters.
The Red Sea crisis is linked to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and Houthis rebels have targeted ships in the Red Sea since November, citing retaliation for Israel’s actions in Gaza.
(With inputs from Bloomberg and Reuters)
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Published: 16 Jan 2024, 07:30 AM IST
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