The United States has launched it’s fourth round of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in less than a week amid the Shia group's continued attacks on maritime commerce in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
“The U.S. launched another round of missile strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, marking the fourth time the U.S. has bombed the country since last Friday.
U.S. officials told AP that the strikes were launched from U.S. Navy warships and submarines. The attack came after the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, struck a U.S.-owned cargo ship with a drone in the Gulf of Aden.
Reports on social media said there were strikes in towns and cities across Houthi-controlled Yemen, including Hodeidah, Saada, Dhamar, and Al-Bayda. The Houthis control the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and govern territory where 70-80% of Yemen’s population lives.
The UK joined the U.S. in the first round of strikes in Yemen, and unconfirmed reports said London was involved in this latest round, but that hasn’t been confirmed.
The U.S. strikes in Yemen have significantly escalated the situation in the region as the Houthis have expanded the scope of their targets to American commercial shipping. The Houthis have shown no sign of backing down in the face of the U.S. military and have repeatedly stated they won’t stop attacking Israeli-linked shipping until the Israeli onslaught in Gaza ends”. -Dave DeCamp, Antiwar
America’s bombing campaign follows a Houthi strike against U.S.-owned bulk carrier ship Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden, around sixty nautical miles southeast of the Yemeni port of Aden.
And while the United Nations Security Council had issued a resolution demanding that the Houthi cease their attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea because the resolution had not been passed under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the United States, and the United Kingdom, for that matter, do have the authority under international law to use military force against Yemen.