Joe Biden is already facing protests in America over his decision to launch air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen in response to attacks on international shipping, with demonstrators chanting “hands off Yemen” outside the White House.
On Thursday, the president ordered “a number” of strikes against militant targets following what he described as an “extensive diplomatic campaign” to stop the attacks on shipping vessels passing through the Red Sea. The strikes were carried out in concert with the U.K., and with assistance from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands
n a statement, Biden said the Houthis had “endanger[ed] freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways,” and that the targeted strikes were “a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel.”
The Houthi rebels—part of Iran’s sphere of influence in the Middle East and thought to be providing a proxy for its aggression—have been launching attacks predominantly on shipping vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait—a key waterway between Yemen, Eritrea and Djibouti that leads to the Suez Canal—since November.
Read more at Newsweek.com
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