«Today, on my orders, US military forces, together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands , conducted successful strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to undermine the freedom of navigation in one of the most vital waterways in the world »: so Joe Biden in a note.
«These attacks - underlines Biden - are the direct response to the unprecedented Houthi attacks against international ships in the Red Sea, including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history. These attacks have endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners and our partners, commerce, and threatened freedom of navigation. More than 50 nations have been affected by 27 attacks on international commercial shipping. Crews from more than 20 countries have been threatened or taken hostage in acts of piracy. More than 2,000 ships have been forced to divert thousands of miles to avoid the Red Sea, which can cause weeks of delays in product shipping times. And on January 9, the Houthis launched their largest attack to date, directly targeting American ships."
«These targeted attacks – the conclusion – are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world's most critical trade routes ».
The Houthis, supported by Iran , justified their attacks in response to Israel's offensive in Gaza. And the response to the attacks by the USA and Great Britain which caused "the death of five Ansar Allah fighters and the wounding of six others" came immediately .
According to spokesman Muhammad Abdul Salam, the USA and Great Britain have launched 73 attacks on Yemeni territory which "will not go unanswered" .
Italy did not participate in the attacks but in the evening a note of support for the Allied operations was released from Palazzo Chigi: «Italy firmly condemns the repeated attacks by the Houthis against merchant ships in the Red Sea and confirms its strong support for the right to free and safe navigation, in line with international standards. Faced with the unacceptable behavior of the Houthis, Italy supports the operations of allied countries, which have the right to defend their own vessels, in the interests of global trade flows and humanitarian assistance ."
(Unioneonline/vl)