War drums of WW-III as American Armada begins Red Sea Voyage

The United States on Monday announced a new US-led operation targeting “security challenges in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden” following recent attacks by Houthi forces on commercial shipping. in the area.

“I am announcing the creation of Operation Prosperity Sentinel, a significant new multinational security initiative led by Joint Maritime Forces and Task Force 153 focused on security in the Red Sea,” Austin said in a statement.

Austin, who is in the region to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas with senior Israeli officials, said countries "must come together to address the challenges posed by non-state actors launching ballistic missiles and drones." international waters legally. . » Multinational operations include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.

“The recent escalation of reckless Houthi attacks in Yemen threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent seafarers, and violates international law,” Austin said. “The Red Sea is an important waterway for freedom of navigation and an important trade corridor that facilitates international trade. »

The Houthi movement

The Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, is a major player in Yemen's nearly decade-long civil war. The movement emerged in the 1990s when its leader Hussein al-Houthi founded the Young Believers, a religious revival movement of a secular branch of Shiite Islam called Zaidism.

The Zaydis have ruled Yemen for centuries, but were marginalized by the Sunni regime that came to power in 1962 after a civil war. The Houthi movement was formed to represent Zaydis and fight Sunni extremists, especially Wahhabi ideas from Saudi Arabia. His closest supporters are known as the Houthis.

In 2011 Saleh agreed to hand over power to his deputy, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, but the government was no longer popular. The Houthi group launched another attack in 2014, seizing parts of Yemen's capital Sana'a and then attacking the presidential palace early the following year.

Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia, which launched a war against the Houthis in March 2015 at his request. A rapid campaign was expected to drag on for years, with a ceasefire finally signed in 2022. It ended six months later, but the warring sides did not. Let's go back to mass conflict.

The UN says the war in Yemen has become the world's worst humanitarian crisis. According to the United Nations, about a quarter of people have died in the conflict.

Houthi forces in Yemen have attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea, claiming it was retaliation for Israel. Oil giant BP has announced it will halt all shipping operations in the Red Sea due to "deteriorating safety conditions", becoming the latest shipping company to temporarily suspend routes through the canal.

The US destroyer USS Carney on Saturday shot down 14 drones launched from "Houthi-controlled areas" in Yemen, US Central Command said. US Central Command wrote Saturday

USS Thomas Hudner shot down several single-aisle attack drones launched from Yemen

Last month, the USS Thomas Hudner shot down several single-aisle attack drones launched from Yemen. In another case, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen towards the USS Mason in the Gulf of Aden after the ship responded to a distress call from another commercial oil tanker that was being attacked by five suspects militants. Somali. .

In recent months the United States has responded with attacks in eastern Syria and Iraq, targeting weapons stockpiles and storage facilities used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and militias.

A US destroyer shot down more than a dozen drones in the Red Sea over the weekend, providing intelligence on the operation announced by Austin to counter Houthi attacks.

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The US Navy does not know what weapons are being used against the Houthis, but the destroyers have "various weapons systems that can be used". Some of these weapons include surface-to-air missiles, explosives, and short-range weapon systems.

Since 2015, the Saudi-backed Houthis in Yemen have been fighting to establish total control over Yemen through an internationally recognized government.[89] Additionally, ISIS launched attacks against all major parties in the conflict, including individual Houthis, Saleh's opponents, the Yemeni government, and the Saudi-led military.[90][91] The Houthis want to control all of Yemen and support foreign operations against the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.[92] They launched numerous missile and drone attacks on various Saudi cities. The war in Yemen is seen as part of the Iran-Saudi proxy war [93] After the start of the Israeli-Hamas war in 2023, it began firing rockets at Israeli cities and shipping at sea The Houthis are red ; in space. Historically, Israel has focused on intercepting Houthi ballistic missiles in space.The Houthis say they intend to keep fighting until Israel is destroyed.

 

Because of their tactics, opponents and researchers view the Huthi movement as the Yemeni mafia.