MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The United Kingdom and the United States are preparing a “direct action” against Yemen’s Ansar Allah rebel movement, also known as the Houthis, against the background of attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, UK newspaper The Telegraph reported Sunday, citing UK Secretary of Defense Grant Shapps and source in the Pentagon.
The newspaper cited sources as saying that London and Washington are preparing an unprecedented joint statement in the form of a “verbal final warning” to the Houthis that could be issued as early as Monday, adding that talks were underway on Sunday evening on the participation of at least two other actions in action against the movement. But the joint statement is not expected to set out any specific military action, the report said.
Shapps said in an article for The Telegraph that the UK’s HMS Diamond, a Type 45 destroyer, shot down a Houthi attack drone in the Red Sea in December, adding that “as HMS Diamond illustrated earlier in the month, we are willing to take direct action, and we won’t hesitate to take further action to deter threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.”
After the armed conflict between Israel and Palestinian movement Hamas escalated in October, Yemen’s Ansar Allah rebel movement, also known as the Houthis, has intensified its attacks on cargo ships it believes to be linked to Israel in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, vowing to continue the attacks until Israel ends its military actions in the Gaza Strip.
On December 19, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the establishment of a multinational operation to secure the Red Sea, saying that the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain would take part in the mission, although Madrid has not officially confirmed its participation yet. The Houthis vowed to attack any ships that joined the US-led maritime coalition.
