Tag: Yemen

Joint Statement on additional strikes against the Houthis in Yemen

‘YESTERDAY, at the direction of their respective governments, the militaries of the United States and United Kingdom, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand conducted an additional round of proportionate and necessary strikes against 36 Houthi targets across 13 locations in Yemen in response to the Houthis’ continued attacks against international and commercial shipping as well as naval vessels transiting the Red Sea.

‘These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade, and the lives of innocent mariners, and are in response to a series of illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing Houthi actions since previous coalition strikes on January 11 and 22, 2024, including the January 27 attack which struck and set ablaze the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker M/V Marlin Luanda.

‘Today’s strike specifically targeted sites associated with the Houthis’ deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, and radars.

‘The Houthis’ now more than 30 attacks on commercial vessels and naval vessels since mid-November constitute an international challenge. Recognizing the broad consensus of the international community, our coalition of likeminded countries committed to upholding the rules-based order has continued to grow.

‘We remain committed to protecting freedom of navigation and international commerce and holding the Houthis accountable for their illegal and unjustifiable attacks on commercial shipping and naval vessels.

‘Our aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea but let us reiterate our warning to Houthi leadership: we will not hesitate to continue to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways in the face of continued threats.”

UK DEFENCE AND ARMED FORCES STATEMENT:

On 3 February, Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s, supported by Voyager tankers, joined US forces in further deliberate strikes against Houthi locations in Yemen involved in their campaign targeting shipping in the Bab al Mandab and southern Red Sea.

The Typhoons employed Paveway IV precision guided bombs against multiple military targets identified by careful intelligence analysis at three locations. 

At As Salif, due west of Sanaa on the Red Sea coast, our aircraft targeted a ground control station inside a defensive position. This station had been used to control Houthi drones, both attack and reconnaissance types, launched from further inland, operating over the sea against international shipping. 

A second drone ground control station was confirmed to be at Al Munirah, on the same stretch of coastline. As with As Salif, the station provided direct control of reconnaissance and attack drones targeting shipping in the Red Sea, its position on the coast allowing it to maintain the line of sight data links such weapons require to target ships with any accuracy. 

The Typhoons also attacked a significant number of targets at Bani. An initial group of facilities there were successfully struck by the RAF on the night of 11 January, and since then a further set of buildings at the site had been positively confirmed as involved in the Houthi drone and missile operations and were duly targeted on this occasion.

As is standard practice with such operations by the Royal Air Force, the strikes were very carefully planned to ensure minimal risk of civilian casualties, and by bombing at night, any such risks were further mitigated

It’s War: Britain and US attack Yemen

AIR STRIKES TARGET HOUTHI REBELS

LAST night (11 January), Royal Air Force aircraft joined ‘coalition forces’ in striking a number of facilities used by the Houthi rebel faction in Yemen to attack shipping in the southern Red Sea.

The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond has already been active alongside US and French warships in defending vital international shipping lanes against Houthi drones and missiles. Given the persistence of the Houthis in threatening merchant ships, several of which have already suffered damage, and the deliberate targeting of HMS Diamond and US Navy vessels on 9 January, coalition forces identified key facilities involved in these attacks, and agreed to conduct a carefully coordinated strike to reduce the Houthis’ capability to violate international law in this manner.

Four RAF Typhoon FGR4s, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker therefore used Paveway IV guided bombs to conduct precision strikes on two of these Houthi facilities. One was a site at Bani in north-western Yemen used to launch reconnaissance and attack drones. A number of buildings involved in drone operations were targeted by our aircraft.

The other location struck by our aircraft was the airfield at Abbs. Intelligence has shown that it has been used to launch both cruise missiles and drones over the Red Sea. Several key targets at the airfield were identified and prosecuted by our aircraft.

In planning the strikes, particular care was taken to minimise any risks to civilians, and any such risks were mitigated further by the decision to conduct the strikes during the night.

The detailed results of the strikes are being assessed, but early indications are that the Houthis’ ability to threaten merchant shipping has taken a blow, and our commitment to protecting the sea-lanes, through which some 15% of the world’s shipping passes and which is vital to the global economy, has been amply demonstrated.

PRIME MINISTER’s STATEMENT 12.1.24

The Royal Air Force has carried out targeted strikes against military facilities used by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

In recent months, the Houthi militia have carried out a series of dangerous and destabilising attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea, threatening UK and other international ships, causing major disruption to a vital trade route and driving up commodity prices. Their reckless actions are risking lives at sea and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. 

Despite the repeated warnings from the international community, the Houthis have continued to carry out attacks in the Red Sea, including against UK and US warships just this week. 

This cannot stand. The United Kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade. We have therefore taken limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defence, alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada and Bahrain against targets tied to these attacks, to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping. 

The Royal Navy continues to patrol the Red Sea as part of the multinational Operation Prosperity Guardian to deter further Houthi aggression, and we urge them to cease their attacks and take steps to de-escalate.

RUSSIA has called for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council. Russia believes the US & UK bombings in Yemen is a violation of the United Nations Charter.

Campaigners to hold protest against war-profiteers in Edinburgh tomorrow

At 12pm tomorrow (Saturday 28 May), Edinburgh Campaign Against Arms Trade (Edinburgh CAAT), alongside several other groups, will be holding a demonstration outside the Leonardo offices on 2 Crewe Rd North. 

Leonardo is one of the world’s biggest arms companies and has a long and shameful history of arming and supporting human rights abusing regimes across the world. In 2021 it posted revenues of €14.1bn, which included a year-on-year net profit increase over 142%. 

It is one of the main manufacturers of the Typhoon jet that has been used by Saudi Arabian forces in the bombardment of Yemen. 

Likewise, the T-129 attack helicopter – which was jointly developed by Leonardo and Turkish Aerospace Industries – has been extensively used by Turkish forces in its military operations against Kurdish groups. 

Leonardo has provided arms and support for the Israeli government, despite the decades of abuses that it has inflicted on Palestinians. Only last month the company secured a $29 million contract to provide military helicopters to Israel. 

Protesters will gather for speeches and performances by the San-Ghanny choir, which has been to Palestine, and the ZarifAtToul dance troupe who will be teaching Palestinian dances. 

Melanie Scott, a spokesperson for Edinburgh CAAT, said: “Leonardo is one of the biggest arms companies in the world and has armed, supported and profited from human rights abuses around the world.

“It has backed dictatorships like the one in Saudi Arabia and fuelled repression against people in Palestine and beyond. 

“Despite its devastating global impact, a lot of people in Edinburgh pass Leonardo’s arms factory every day and are totally unaware of the weapons that are being made inside or who those weapons are being sold to.

“That is why we are bringing people together in unity to shine a light on Leonardo’s complicity in these abuses.”

Mary’s Meals starts feeding hungry children in Yemen

Charity brings hope to 4,000 children amid ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen

Mary’s Meals has today (Thursday, 13 January) announced that it is now working in Yemen in the Middle East. The global charity is serving nutritious food at school to children affected by one of the biggest humanitarian crises in the world, with conflict devastating the country for several years.

Mary’s Meals, which was founded in a shed in Argyll, provides school meals for children living in some of the world’s poorest countries – including Malawi, Haiti, Ethiopia, Syria and South Sudan. The promise of a daily meal attracts hungry children to the classroom, where they receive an education that can, in the future, be their ladder out of poverty.

Life is very difficult for people in Yemen, with ongoing conflict heavily impacting the country’s economy and causing high levels of poverty and food insecurity – approximately 21 million people (or 70% of the population) are in need of humanitarian assistance. This includes more than 11 million children.

Millions of people have had to flee their homes in search of safety and many children are malnourished. Since the conflict began in 2015, the number of school-age children not in education has doubled and many have to work to survive.

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder of Mary’s Meals, says: “Mary’s Meals always has a desire to support those in the greatest need. Given that Yemen can be described as the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world, and so many children are suffering, we are delighted to begin serving our daily school meals there – meeting the immediate need of the hungry child and, crucially, at the same time, enabling their education.”

In Yemen, Mary’s Meals is serving substantial and nutritious pitta bread sandwiches, filled with various ingredients to suit local tastes alongside fruit and vegetables, to more than 4,000 children at four schools every school day.

The charity is working in partnership with established international NGO, Yemen Aid, to reach children living in the Al Mansoora district of Aden. This district is particularly vulnerable as it is home to a large number of internally displaced people and other marginalised populations, who all experience high levels of hunger.

Mary’s Meals began in 2002 by feeding 200 children in Malawi. It now reaches more than two million children every school day in 20 countries around the world.

The charity is currently running a match funding campaign, Double The Love. Donations made to Mary’s Meals until 31 January 2022 will be doubled by a group of generous supporters, with up to £1.6 million available.

Magnus adds: “Feeding children in Yemen is an important moment in our mission but we are always thinking of the next child waiting for our nutritious meals.

“That’s why I’m so pleased that donations made to Mary’s Meals this winter are being doubled by a group of generous supporters – meaning we can reach even more hungry children around the world with a life-changing meal at school.”

For more information on the work of Mary’s Meals and to donate to Double The Love, please visit marysmeals.org.uk 

UK sends emergency aid to Yemen as eight million people face starvation

A new UK aid package will provide life-saving food, medicine, clean water and sanitation to millions of desperate Yemenis facing disease and hunger, Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt has announced. Continue reading UK sends emergency aid to Yemen as eight million people face starvation