US attacks on Yemen on March 15 have claimed 53 lives,
according to the Houthis, as US President Trump increased military action to
reopen the Red Sea to commercial shipping.
Posting on Truth Social, the US President said, “The Houthis
have choked off shipping in one of the most important Waterways of the World,
grinding vast swaths of Global Commerce to a halt, and attacking the core
principle of Freedom of Navigation upon which International Trade and Commerce
depends.”
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the US would
continue to target the Houthis until their threats to shipping were withdrawn.
The White House posted an article listing Houthi attacks on
international shipping and their impact on world trade, including the drop in
Red Sea and Suez Canal transits.
Ships continue to avoid the southern Red Sea due to the risk
of escalation at short notice in the region, although no Houthi attacks on
merchant ships have been reported this year.
The announcement of the Houthis’ ‘ban’ on US vessels follows
a statement issued by the group last week that it was resuming a ‘ban’ on
Israeli vessels in the Red and Arabian Seas, Bab al-Mandeb strait and the Gulf
of Aden until Israel allows aid to flow into Gaza.
In January this year, the Houthis lifted its ‘ban’ on
international shipping transiting the Red Sea as the ceasefire between Israel
and Hamas progressed, but warned that aggression against its forces in Yemen by
the US or Britain would make the nations’ vessels subject to attack
once again.
A further signal of progress was seen in January when the
crew of car carrier Galaxy Leader were released after 14 months in
Houthis captivity.
The US strikes and Houthi response are in line with
expectations when the Israel-Hamas ceasefire was announced - security experts
said at the time that the region remained volatile, the ceasefire was fragile,
escalation could happen quickly, and Israeli, US and UK ships were particularly
at threat.
Since November 2023, there have been 112 incidents recorded
in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including six serious incidents, 42 minor
incidents, 46 attempted attacks, and four hijackings, according to the Joint
Maritime Information Centre (JMIC).
Four mariners have been killed and two seriously injured in
Houthi attacks on merchant ships.
