By Elwely Elwelly
DUBAI (Reuters) – The United States intensified strikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis this year to stop attacks on Red Sea shipping, but rights activists have raised concerns over civilian casualties.
Here are some facts about the U.S. campaign and a list of some of the biggest strikes.
WHAT’S BEHIND THE U.S. STRIKES?
The Houthis began launching their attacks on shipping routes in November 2023 as a show of support for Palestinians and Hamas over the war in Gaza.
The group, which has controlled most of northern Yemen since 2014, has also launched missiles and drones towards Israel, though most of these have been downed.
Under Joe Biden’s administration, the United States and Britain retaliated with air strikes against Houthi targets in an effort to keep open the crucial Red Sea trading route – the path for about 15% of global shipping traffic.
After Donald Trump became U.S. president in January, he decided to significantly intensify air strikes against the Houthis. The campaign came after the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden.
Washington has pledged to continue its attacks on the Houthis until they cease assaults on Red Sea shipping. Those attacks had disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route on longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
The U.S. air campaign in Yemen follows years of strikes by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, which targeted the Houthis with U.S. help as part of its efforts to support government forces in the country’s civil war.
HOW HAVE THE STRIKES UNFOLDED?
March 15: As Trump orders the start of a military campaign, strikes on Sanaa kill at least 31 people.
March 16: Strikes continue, targeting Houthi military sites in the southwestern city of Taiz.
March 17: Death toll rises to 53, according to the Houthi-run health ministry, with attacks expanding to targets in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah. The Pentagon says the initial wave of strikes targeted over 30 sites, including training sites and senior Houthi drone experts.
March 19: Strikes hit targets across Yemen including northern Saada province, the longtime heartland of the Houthi groups.
March 20: Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reports at least four U.S. strikes on Hodeidah’s port district.
April 17: Strike hits Ras Isa fuel terminal on the Red Sea coast, killing at least 74 people, the deadliest attack since the U.S. started its campaign.
April 28: Al Masirah television reports at least 68 dead from a U.S. strike on a migrant detention centre in Saada.
(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
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