Joe Biden & Rishi Sunak Authorise Air Strikes Against Houthi Militia In Yemen
12 Jan 2024
The US and UK militaries launched air strikes against Iranian backed Houthi militia targets in Yemen on Thursday.
The combined effort, which is backed by both UK and US allies, are said to be retaliation for Houthi attacks on commercial ships passing through the Red Sea.
The Houthis are a Yemeni militia group emerging in the 80s, founded by Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, as a response to Saudi Arabia’s religious influence in Yemen.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Friday that the strikes were an act of “self-defence,” with the ultimate aim to “de-escalate tensions and to restore stability to the region.”
Missiles were launched overnight into Friday, hitting dozens of sites – with some casualties reported.
“Today, at my direction, U.S. military forces — together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands—successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways,” the US president said in a statement released by the White House.