UN Chief Antonio Guterres says he is “seriously worried” about the US airstrikes in Yemen this week.
The US has carried out 13 airstrikes at Hodeida’s ports and airports, said Al Masirah, a television channel belonging to Houthi, said two days after a US air strike targeted the Ras Isa port in Hodeida, killing at least 80 people and injuring more than 150 people.
Al Masila also reported on Saturday that three people were killed and four injured in a US attack on Al Tara, Bani Mathal and Al Safia districts of the capital Sanaa.
Houthis has committed to implementing “more operations” despite continued US attacks.
US President Donald Trump announced a major military attack on the Hoosis a few weeks ago. It said it aims to force the Air Force to stop threats on ships sailing in the Red Sea on routes essential to international trade.
Since November 2023, the group reportedly launched more than 100 attacks on vessels said to be linked to Israel in response to Israeli war with Gaza and solidarity with the Palestinians.
On Friday, Houthi’s official Mohammed Nasser Al-Atifi told Al Masirah that “crimes of the American enemy” would not stop Yemeni people from supporting Gaza, but would “increase their immobility and revival.”
Also known as Ansal Allah or “God’s Supporter,” the Houtis is an armed group that rules most parts of Yemen, including Sana. The group appeared in the 1990s, but became prominent in 2014 when Sanaa was seized and forced President Abdullab Mansour Hadi to flee the country.
“We are concerned about the airstrikes that took place on April 17 and 18 April on and on April 17 and 18 in and around Yemen’s ports,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
Guterres expressed fear of damage to the port, and “there is a possibility that oil may leak into the Red Sea,” Dujaric added.
The Ras Isa strike was aimed at cutting off Houthis’ supply and funding, the US military said. This was the most deadly attack in Washington’s 15-month campaign against the group lined up in Iran.
Approximately 70% of Yemen’s imports and 80% of humanitarian aid pass through the ports of Ras Isa, Hodeidah and As-Salif.
According to the United Nations Development Programme, Ras Isa is also the end of Yemen’s major oil pipeline and, together with Yemen’s ports, is a “critical and irreplaceable infrastructure.”