SANAA
\nThe 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.
\nThe 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.
\nThe 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.
\nAround 12 per cent of global trade normally passes through the Bab Al Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea entrance between south-western Yemen and Djibouti.
\nBut since mid-November the Houthi attacks have affected trade flows when supply strains are already putting upward pressure on inflation globally.
\nUS Central Command said Saturday\u2019s strike was \u201ca follow-up action on a specific military target\u201d related to the previous day\u2019s strikes.
\nThe Houthis\u2019 official media earlier said Al Dailami airbase in Sanaa had been struck in the latest bombardment.
\nBritain, the United States and eight allies said strikes on Friday aimed to \u201cde-escalate tensions\u201d, but the Houthis vow\u00aded to continue their attacks.
\nAnalysts said the Western strikes were unlikely to stop them. They will \u201cdiminish but not end the Houthi threat to shipping,\u201d said Jon Alterman, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
\nThe Houthis withstood thousands of air strikes while battling a Saudi-led coalition for more than seven years. They earlier fought six wars against Yemen\u2019s government between 2004 and 2010.
\n\u201cAll American-British interests have become legitimate targets\u201d following the strikes, the Houthis\u2019 Supreme Political Council said in a statement.
\nHussein al Ezzi, the Houthis\u2019 `deputy foreign minister\u2019, said the United States and Britain would \u201chave to prepare to pay a heavy price\u201d.
\nThe Houthis have controlled much of Yemen since a civil war erupted in 2014 and are part of an Iran-aligned \u201caxis of resistance\u201d against Israel and its allies.
\nUnited Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on all sides \u201cnot to escalate\u201d in the interest of regional peace and stability, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
\nRegional concern
\nThe United Nations Secu\u00adrity Council held an emergency meeting on the strikes on Friday, days after adopting a resolution demanding the Houthis immediately stop their attacks on ships.
\nAt the meeting, US Ambas\u00adsador Linda Thomas-Green\u00adfield warned that no ship was safe from the Houthi threat in the Red Sea.
\nRussian Ambassador Vas\u00adsili Nebenzia denounced the \u201cblatant armed aggression\u201d against the entire population of Yemen.
\nWashington last month ann\u00adounced a maritime security initiative, Operation Pros\u00adp\u00ade\u00adrity Guar\u00addian, to protect maritime traffic in the area, but the Houthis kept up attacks despite several warnings.
\nWith 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.
\nThe Houthis fired \u201cat least one\u201d 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.
\nHouthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the raids \u201cled to the death of five martyrs\u201d and wounded six fighters.
\nBiden called the strikes a successful \u201cdefensive action\u201d after the \u201cunprecedented\u201d Red Sea attacks and said he would act again if the Houthis continued their \u201coutrageous behaviour\u201d.
\nBritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Houthis\u2019 breach of international law warranted the \u201cstrong signal\u201d, which he described as \u201cproportionate\u201d.
\nBut Nasser Kanani, spokesman for Iran\u2019s foreign ministry, said the Western strikes wou\u00adld fuel \u201cinsecurity and ins\u00adta\u00adbility in the region\u201d while \u201cdiverting\u201d attention from Gaza.
\nWashington said it did not seek conflict with Tehran, and National Security Council spo\u00adk\u00adesman John Kirby told MSNBC there was \u201cno reason\u201d for an escalation.
\nMiddle Eastern leaders voiced concern, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan describing the strikes on Yemen as disproportionate and saying: \u201cIt is as if they aspire to turn the Red Sea into a bloodbath.\u201d
\nSaudi Arabia said it \u201cis following with great concern the military operations\u201d and called for \u201cself-restraint and avoiding escalation\u201d.
\nRiyadh 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.
\nHundreds of thousands of people, some carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles, gathered in Yemen\u2019s capital Sanaa on Friday to protest, many waving Yemeni and Palestinian flags.
\n\u201cDeath to America, death to Israel\u201d, they chanted.
\nIn Tehran, hundreds rallied against the United States, Britain and Israel, burning the three countries\u2019 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380838,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-380824","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n