The Houthi rebels in Yemen do not give the impression of wanting to give up ballast in the Red Sea. Sunday, January 14, around 4:45 p.m. local time (2:45 p.m. Paris time), “an anti-ship cruise missile [a été] taken from the areas [contrôlées par les] Houthi militants supported by Iran towards the “USS Laboon”an American destroyer operating in the southern Red Sea, communicated the US military Command in the Middle East (CentCom). “The missile was shot down in the vicinity of the coast of Hodeidah [dans l’ouest du Yémen] by an American fighter plane »added CentCom, specifying that there were no injuries or damage.
The attack appears to be the first to have targeted a US destroyer, amid attacks by Yemeni rebels against ships in the Red Sea that they believe are linked to Israel. Attacks carried out in “solidarity” with the Palestinians of Gaza, where Israel and Hamas have been at war since the deadly attack by the Palestinian movement on Israeli soil on October 7.
Washington denied reports from Houthi media reporting news “American-British strikes” carried out on Sunday against the port city of Hodeida. “No US or coalition strikes took place today”Sunday, said a US official on condition of anonymity.
Fear of conflict spreading
US and British forces struck Houthi targets across Yemen on Friday, reinforcing fears of a regional spread of the war between Israel and Hamas. The rebels then fired “at least one missile” which, however, did not hit any ships, the US military said. Then, on Saturday morning, a new American strike was carried out against a radar site in Yemen, the same source reported.
About 12% of global trade passes through the Red Sea, but since mid-November, Houthi attacks have forced many shipping companies to avoid the area, and take the longer route around the tip of Africa, to the price of additional transport costs and longer delivery times.