In November, the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement began a campaign of attacks against Israeli merchant ships or ships linked to Israeli interests transiting the Red Sea.
The Yemeni movement specified at that time that the attacks would continue until Israel puts an end to the massacre of the population of Gaza. When the Western powers expressed their support for Israel, Ansar Allah extended the attacks to those countries’ ships – Chinese and Russian merchant ships have never been attacked.
The United States announced the start of Operation Prosperity Guardian, with a new international “coalition”, to protect Western maritime traffic in the Red Sea.
France and Spain, which were initially part of the “coalition,” subsequently announced their withdrawal from Operation Prosperity Guardian.
The Yemeni Ansar Allah movement – referred to pejoratively in the West as “Houthis” or “Hutists”, i.e. “the gang of the al-Huthi family” – organized this week a gigantic demonstration in support of the Palestinian people. The following video provides a snippet of what the West calls “the al-Huthi gang.”
On 10 January 2024, the UN Security Council met to discuss the matter and condemned all attacks carried out against merchant ships. Algeria, China, Mozambique and Russia abstained from the vote.
However, following a proposal by Russia, the Security Council resolution specifies that peace can only be restored by addressing “the root causes, mainly the conflicts that are fueling regional tensions and that contribute to threatening maritime security.”
The next day, 11 January, the United States and the United Kingdom conducted an extensive bombing campaign against Yemen (73 air strikes) and reportedly destroyed a dozen Ansar Allah positions. Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands participated in the bombings. The operation was supervised by General Michael Erik Kurilla, Commander of US Forces for the Greater Middle East (CentCom).
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, announced that he had ordered the bombings against Yemen with a view to protecting “one of the most vital waterways in the world.”
However, the UN Security Council resolution does not sanction any type of military action. On the contrary, the resolution calls for strengthening the embargo on arms supplies to the different Yemeni factions, implying that the operation by the United States and its Western partners constitutes an attempt to extend the Gaza conflict.
According to Reuters press agency, the bombings hit targets throughout Yemen, mainly in the capital city of Sanaa, in the cities of Saada and Dhamar and in the governorate of Hodeida.
The Yemeni Ansar Allah movement has just emerged victorious from a cruel 9-year war with Saudi Arabia and Israel, with the active support of the United Arab Emirates. After 8 years under the bombs, the Yemenis have undoubtedly learned to protect themselves and it is highly unlikely that the Anglo-Saxon aggression will make them back down.