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SANAA: The United States carried out a fresh strike on Saturday on a Houthi target in Yemen, the US military said, after the Iran-backed fighters warned of further attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
The strike on a Houthi radar site came a day after US and British forces hit scores of targets across the country, heightening fears that the Gaza crisis could engulf the wider region.
The Houthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, have carried out a growing number of missile and drone attacks in the key Red Sea international trade route. They say they are targeting Israeli-linked shipping.
Around 12 per cent of global trade normally passes through the Bab Al Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea entrance between south-western Yemen and Djibouti.
But since mid-November the Houthi attacks have affected trade flows when supply strains are already putting upward pressure on inflation globally.
US Central Command said Saturday’s strike was “a follow-up action on a specific military target” related to the previous day’s strikes.
The Houthis’ official media earlier said Al Dailami airbase in Sanaa had been struck in the latest bombardment.
Britain, the United States and eight allies said strikes on Friday aimed to “de-escalate tensions”, but the Houthis vowed to continue their attacks.
Analysts said the Western strikes were unlikely to stop them. They will “diminish but not end the Houthi threat to shipping,” said Jon Alterman, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The Houthis withstood thousands of air strikes while battling a Saudi-led coalition for more than seven years. They earlier fought six wars against Yemen’s government between 2004 and 2010.
“All American-British interests have become legitimate targets” following the strikes, the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council said in a statement.
Hussein al Ezzi, the Houthis’ `deputy foreign minister’, said the United States and Britain would “have to prepare to pay a heavy price”.
The Houthis have controlled much of Yemen since a civil war erupted in 2014 and are part of an Iran-aligned “axis of resistance” against Israel and its allies.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on all sides “not to escalate” in the interest of regional peace and stability, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Regional concern
The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on the strikes on Friday, days after adopting a resolution demanding the Houthis immediately stop their attacks on ships.
At the meeting, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned that no ship was safe from the Houthi threat in the Red Sea.
Russian Ambassador Vassili Nebenzia denounced the “blatant armed aggression” against the entire population of Yemen.
Washington last month announced a maritime security initiative, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to protect maritime traffic in the area, but the Houthis kept up attacks despite several warnings.
With the strikes on Friday, the United States and Britain targeted nearly 30 locations using more than 150 munitions, US General Douglas Sims said, updating earlier figures.
The Houthis fired “at least one” anti-ship ballistic missile in retaliation, but it caused no damage, according to Sims. President Joe Biden said he did not believe there were civilian casualties.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the raids “led to the death of five martyrs” and wounded six fighters.
Biden called the strikes a successful “defensive action” after the “unprecedented” Red Sea attacks and said he would act again if the Houthis continued their “outrageous behaviour”.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Houthis’ breach of international law warranted the “strong signal”, which he described as “proportionate”.
But Nasser Kanani, spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, said the Western strikes would fuel “insecurity and instability in the region” while “diverting” attention from Gaza.
Washington said it did not seek conflict with Tehran, and National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told MSNBC there was “no reason” for an escalation.
Middle Eastern leaders voiced concern, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan describing the strikes on Yemen as disproportionate and saying: “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”.
Riyadh is trying to extricate itself from its nine-year war with the Houthis, though fighting has largely been on hold since a truce in early 2022.
Hundreds of thousands of people, some carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles, gathered in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Friday to protest, many waving Yemeni and Palestinian flags.
“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. In Gaza City, some Palestinians lauded Houthi support and condemned Britain and the United States.