Cautious calm in Yemen after US strikes; Houthis vow 'painful' reply

Yahoo

16-03-2025

A cautious calm was prevailing on Sunday in the capital Sana'a and other areas controlled by the Houthis in Yemen, hours after a series of US airstrikes that the Iranian-aligned militia said left at least 31 civilians dead.
US President Donald Trump ordered massive attacks on Saturday on the Houthis in several Yemeni provinces including Sana'a and the militia's stronghold of Sa'ada in the far north of the war-torn country.
The bombing also hit the area of al-Jiraf north of Sana'a where many Houthi leaders live, locals said. So far, there have been no confirmed deaths among them.
Houthi leaders have been advised against appearing in public places, sources close to the group said.
The militia had earlier issued a notice to government institutions under its control ordering workers not to share any information publicly about the locations of the Houthi leaders or their movements for security reasons.
The Saudi-owned television channel Al Arabiya reported that some Houthi leaders had left Sana'a for Sa'ada and the Amran province in north-western Yemen on safety grounds.
Some residents of the stricken areas recalled the horror they experienced during the US bombardment.
"We have been living through terrifying moments over the past few hours due to the violent US bombing, which shattered some of the windows in my house," Mohammed Amer, a resident of the Attan neighbourhood in Sana'a, told dpa.
He added that the strikes resulted in damage to houses and stores.
Attan is a military zone surrounded by several residential districts.
A spokesman for the Houthi-run Ministry of Health told dpa that the strikes had killed 31 civilians and injured 101 others.
The Houthis' ruling Supreme Political Council condemned the strikes and vowed a "professional and painful punishment."
Trump said the airstrikes targeted Houthi bases, leaders and missile defence sites in order to protect US shipping in the region and restore freedom of navigation.
Since the start of the conflict in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the Houthi militia has repeatedly attacked Israel and international merchant ships in support of its ally, the Palestinian militant Hamas organization.
In response, Israel, the United States and Britain have repeatedly attacked Houthi targets in Yemen.
The Houthis stopped their attacks after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was reached in January.
However, the Yemeni group earlier this week warned it will resume attacks on Israeli ships unless Israel reverses the blocking of aid deliveries into Gaza.
A senior Houthi official called the US strikes a "flagrant aggression" and an encouragement to Israel to continue "unjust siege" on Gaza.
"We confirm that international navigation in the Red Sea will remain safe from the Yemeni side. The US raids represent a return to the militarization of the Red Sea, which is the real threat to international navigation in the region," Mohammed Abdel-Salam, a Houthi spokesman wrote in a post on X.
The latest attacks are likely to continue for days or perhaps even weeks, US media quoted military representatives as saying.
"We have been living under war and bombing for 10 years, and what is the result? Nothing but more destruction and more civilian casualties," Siham Mohammed, a resident in Sana'a, said.
She called for "seriousness" about ending the Houthi presence, suggesting targeting their leaders and gathering sites.
Bombarding sites that have been targeted hundreds of times "will be of no use," Mohammed said.
The Houthi rebels control large parts of impoverished Yemen, which has been locked in a devastating conflict between the government and the militia since late 2014.
Washington reclassified the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization in early March.