US, UK forces launch fresh attacks on Yemen capital
US and British forces have launched fresh raids on Yemen's capital, Huthi rebel forces said on Saturday, a day after the allies carried out dozens of strikes on the country.
The latest raids targeted Al-Dailami airbase in Sanaa, which has been under Huthi control since 2014, the Iran-backed rebels said on their official media.
"The American-British enemy is targeting the capital, Sanaa, with a number of raids," Al-Masirah TV posted on X, formerly Twitter, citing its correspondent in Sanaa.
"The American-British aggression targeted the Al-Dailami base in the capital, Sanaa," it added.
There was no immediate comment from the United States or Britain.
The raids on Yemen follow weeks of Huthi attacks on Israeli-linked shipping in the commercially sensitive Red Sea in protest against the Israel-Hamas war.
The Huthis are part of the "axis of resistance" to Israel encompassing Iranian allies and proxies across the region.
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Meanwhile, the United States military confirmed late Friday it had carried out another strike on Yemen's Huthi rebels, this time on a radar site, a day after multiple air strikes by US and UK forces on the country's capital Sanaa.
"US forces conducted a strike against a Huthi radar site in Yemen" at around 3:45 am local time Saturday, a statement from US Central Command said.
The strike was "a follow-on action on a specific military target" related to the previous day's strikes, the statement said.
US, UK interests 'legitimate targets'
Yemen's Iran-backed Huthis said Friday that US and British interests were "legitimate targets" after the Western allies launched deadly strikes following weeks of disruptive rebel attacks on Red Sea shipping.
The barrage of strikes early on Friday against the Huthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with Gaza, stoked fears of the Israel-Hamas war spreading across the region.
Violence involving Iran-aligned groups in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria has surged since the war in Gaza began in early October.
Britain, the United States and eight allies said the strikes aimed to "de-escalate tensions". But Iran and other governments condemned the Western action or warned that unrest could worsen.
The UN Security Council was due to hold an emergency meeting on the strikes on Friday, days after adopting a resolution demanding the Huthis immediately stop their attacks on ships.
5 million people protested in Yemen today. Does The United States and Israel know what they got themselves into? This is terrifying, pic.twitter.com/MBRw9f8X5r
— ☆La 🤍 (@Ayah2156) January 13, 2024
Oil prices rose four percent on fears of an escalation before falling back.
The Huthis have intensified attacks on what they deem Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea -- through which 12 percent of global maritime trade normally passes -- since Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war on October 7.
The rebels have controlled much of Yemen since a civil war erupted in 2014 and are part of an Iran-backed "axis of resistance" against Israel and its allies.
"All American-British interests have become legitimate targets" for the Huthis following the strikes, the rebels' Supreme Political Council said.
Hussein al-Ezzi, the rebels' deputy foreign minister, said the United States and Britain must "prepare to pay a heavy price".
The Huthis fired "at least one" anti-ship ballistic missile in retaliation on Friday that caused no damage, according to US General Douglas Sims.
- 'Strong signal' -
US President Joe Biden called the strikes a successful "defensive action" after the "unprecedented" Red Sea attacks, and said he would act again if the Huthis continued their "outrageous behaviour".
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Huthis' breach of international law warranted the "strong signal", with his government publishing its legal position justifying the strikes as lawful and "proportionate".
Nasser Kanani, spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, said the Western strikes will fuel "insecurity and instability in the region" while "diverting" attention from Gaza.
Hamas said it will hold Britain and the United States "responsible for the repercussions on regional security".
But the White House said the United States did not seek conflict with Iran, with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby telling MSNBC there was "no reason" for an escalation.
Hundreds of thousands of people, some carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles, gathered in Yemen's capital Sanaa in protest, many waving Yemeni and Palestinian flags and holding portraits of Huthi leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi, an AFP journalist reported.
"Death to America, death to Israel," they chanted.
In Tehran, hundreds rallied against the United States, Britain and Israel, burning the three countries' flags outside the UK embassy while voicing support for Gazans and Yemenis, an AFP reporter saw.
- Red Sea 'bloodbath' -
In Gaza, Palestinians lauded Huthi support and condemned Britain and the United States.
"No one is standing with us but Yemen," said Fouad al-Ghalaini, one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians left homeless by Israel's bombardment of Gaza City.
"When Yemen decided to take action to stand with the Palestinian people and the people of Gaza, they fought it and allied against it."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the strikes on Yemen as disproportionate and said: "It is as if they aspire to turn the Red Sea into a bloodbath."
Saudi Arabia said it "is following with great concern the military operations" and called for "self-restraint and avoiding escalation".
The kingdom is trying to extricate itself from a nine-year war with the Huthis, though fighting has largely been on hold since a truce in early 2022.
UN chief Antonio Guterres called on all sides "not to escalate" in the interest of regional peace and stability, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
- International trade disrupted -
Friday's strikes targeted an airbase, airports and a military camp, according to the Huthis' Al-Masirah television.
The United States and Britain targeted nearly 30 locations using more than 150 munitions, Sims said, updating earlier figures, and Biden said he did not believe there were civilian casualties.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said the strikes "targeted sites associated with the Huthis' unmanned aerial vehicle, ballistic and cruise missile, and coastal radar and air surveillance capabilities".
Britain's defence ministry said four Typhoon aircraft hit a site in Bani in northwestern Yemen, used to launch attack drones, and an airfield in Abbs from where cruise missiles and drones were operated over the Red Sea.
Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree reported at least five deaths.
The action aimed to send a "strong message" to Iran, which is trying to surround Israel in a "ring of instability" through regional proxies, said Melanie Garson, an associate professor in international conflict resolution at University College London.
But as the rebels have weathered years of air raids by a Saudi-led coalition, hitting them will have little impact and only raise their standing in the Arab world, Gerald Feierstein, an ex-US ambassador to Yemen, said before the strikes.
Major shipping firms have rerouted their cargoes around the tip of Africa, hitting trade flows at a time when supply strains are putting upward pressure on inflation worldwide.
Since mid-November, the volume of shipping containers transiting through the Red Sea has dropped by 70 percent, according to maritime experts.
Denmark's Torm on Friday became the latest tanker firm to halt transit through the southern Red Sea.
Dryad Global, a maritime security risk group, advised its clients to suspend Red Sea operations for 72 hours, citing the threat of Huthi retaliation.
UN chief warns against escalation
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all sides "not to escalate" the volatile situation in the Red Sea, his spokesman said on Friday after Washington and London launched strikes on Yemen's Huthi rebels.
The barrage of strikes early on Friday against the Huthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with Gaza, follow weeks of disruptive rebel attacks on Red Sea shipping and have stoked fears of the Israel-Hamas war spreading regionwide.
"The Secretary-General further calls on all parties involved not to escalate even more the situation in the interest of peace and stability in the Red Sea and the wider region," said Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Later, Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, told the UN Security Council "we are witnessing the cycle of violence that risks grave political security, economic and humanitarian repercussions in Yemen and the region."
"These developments in the Red Sea and the risk of exacerbating regional tensions are alarming," he said.
Russia's ambassador to the UN called the joint US-UK strikes on Yemen's Huthis "blatant armed aggression against another country."
"These states all carried out a mass strike on Yemeni territory. I'm not talking about an attack on some group within the country but an attack on the people of the country on the whole. Aircraft were used, warships and submarines," Vasily Nebenzya said of the US and British action, supported by allied countries.