Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched numerous attacks on international ships in the Red Sea, prompting a series of warnings from the US and others. Joe Biden hailed the "united and resolute" response. The United States and Britain on Friday began carrying out strikes against sites used by the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. US officials said targets included logistical hubs, air defense systems and weapons storage locations. US media reported that the strikes involved fighter jets and Tomahawk missiles. The Houthis are backed by Iran and control large swathes of western Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa.   Biden hails 'united' response to 'reckless' Houthi attacks US President Joe Biden said the strikes represented a "united and resolute" response to Houthi attacks on international ships and that the US would "not hesitate to direct further measures" against the militant group. "The response of the international community to these reckless attacks has been united and resolute," he said in a statement released by the White House.  Biden said the US and UK strikes were carried out with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands. "These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical commercial routes," he said. In a separate statement, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also confirmed the strikes, saying the UK took "limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defense" in order to "degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping." "Despite the repeated warnings from the international community, the Houthis have continued to carry out attacks in the Red Sea," he said.   Houthi official warns of retaliation Meanwhile, Houthi leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi vowed retaliation involving dozens of drones. "The response to any American attack will not only be at the level of the operation that was recently carried out with more than 24 drones and several missiles," he said. "It will be greater than that." "We will confront the American aggression," he said. Houthi Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Al Ezzi said in a statement posted by the rebels' Al Masirah broadcaster that the US and UK will pay a "heavy price" for the strikes. "Our country was subjected to a massive aggressive attack by American and British ships, submarines, and warplanes," he said. "America and Britain will have to be prepared to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences of this blatant aggression."   Houthi attacks in the Red Sea Houthi rebels have, in recent weeks, launched numerous attacks on international ships in the Red Sea in reaction to the Israeli military operation in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The route through the Suez Canal accounts for around 15% of the world's shipping traffic. The US military said Thursday that Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden. This was the 27th attack by the group since November 19. The US and its allies have issued a series of warnings to the Houthis to cease their attacks on ships. On January 3, 12 countries warned the group of "consequences" if they did not halt the attacks. On Wednesday, the UN Security Council approved a resolution demanding an immediate end to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.   Source: Deutsche Welle

UN official Lt Col (retd) Sufiul Anam, abducted by Al Qaeda in Yemen in February 2022, has been rescued by the National Security Intelligence (NSI), under the direct instructions of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.  Lt Col (retd) Sufiul Anam was abducted by al Qaeda in Yemen 18 months ago. On February 11, 2022, Lt Col (retd) Sufiul Anam, who works in the United Nations, was abducted from Yemen's Mudiah province by members of al-Qaeda and $3 million was asked as ransom for him. Bangladeshi news agency UNB reports that, Sufiul Anam is physically in good health.  "He will likely be brought home on Wednesday and handed over to his family" also said it in that report. Lt Col (retd) Sufiul Anam expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for rescuing him and sought prayers from the countrymen.

    Indian authority has called for the immediate release of seven Indian crew members on board a United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo vessel that was seized by Houthis off the port of Hodeidah in Yemen. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador TS Tirumurti, speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Yemen on Wednesday, expressed grave concern over seizure and detention of UAE vessel Rawabi. Mr Tirumurti tweeted that he "called for immediate release of 7 Indian crew members, expressed deep concern about their safety & well-being & that Houthis should ensure their safety till release." India also calls upon all parties to the conflict to immediately cease fighting, de-escalate the situation and engage unconditionally with the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen. The External Affairs Ministry said Tuesday that all seven Indian sailors on board a United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo vessel that was seized by Houthis off the port of Hodeidah in Yemen are safe and the government is making all efforts to secure their early release. Mr Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson in the ministry, said India has been closely monitoring developments following the seizure of the UAE flagged ship Rwabee by the Houthis on January 2. Spokesperson said, "We also understand from the company and other sources that all Indian crew members are safe. The government of India is making all efforts to secure their early release,". The Houthi rebels have a strong presence in parts of Yemen. "We are in touch with the company operating the ship and have been informed that out of the 11 crew members on board the ship, seven are from India," Mr Arindam Bagchi said while replying to a media query on the issue. He also added, "We urge the Houthis to ensure the safety and well-being of the crew members and release them immediately. India is concerned at the recent intensification of fighting in Yemen and hopes that all parties will come to the negotiating table to find a peaceful resolution to the Yemen issue." Source : NDTV

President Joe Biden on Thursday ended US support for Saudi Arabia’s devastating war in Yemen and dramatically increased the welcome to refugees, ushering in a major reset in American foreign policy. In his first major speech on foreign affairs as president, Biden also froze former president Donald Trump’s plans to redeploy troops from Germany and vowed a tough approach against what he described as a rising authoritarian threat from China and Russia. Two weeks into their term, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris traveled together to the State Department in a symbol of a renewed focus on diplomacy after Trump’s tumultuous four years. “America is back. Diplomacy is back,” Biden told a socially distanced auditorium of diplomats. In a speech shortly afterward in the ornate Benjamin Franklin room, Biden said the United States would end all support including connected arms sales for ally Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, which he said “has created a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe.” He appointed a US special envoy for Yemen, veteran diplomat Timothy Lenderking, who Biden said would support UN efforts to reach a ceasefire and revive peace talks between the government and Huthi rebels who control much of the country including the capital Sanaa. The United States will work “to ensure that humanitarian aid is reaching the Yemeni people who are suffering unendurable devastation.” “This war has to end,” Biden said. Activists have been pushing to end US support for the war in Yemen, where 80 percent of the population is surviving on aid in what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Trump offered US logistical assistance and sales including of precision-guided bombs, arguing that Saudi Arabia was creating US defense jobs. Trump also viewed the war as a way to hit back at the Huthis’ ally Iran, a fixation for the last administration which saw the Shiite clerical regime as an arch-enemy. Biden backs a return of diplomacy and a nuclear accord with Iran but, strikingly, he only indirectly mentioned Tehran in what was billed as a broad-brush speech on his international priorities. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he will quickly revisit Trump’s last-minute designation of the Huthis as a terrorist group — a move that aid groups say effectively criminalizes vital humanitarian work. In Yemen, senior political official Hamid Assem voiced hope that Biden’s plan will mark the end of a six-year war that has left tens of thousands dead. “The Biden administration saw that the war in Yemen carries a heavy cost and that America’s reputation has been tarnished by the killing of the people of Yemen,” he told AFP. – ‘Moral leadership’ on refugees – In another sharp reversal, Biden said the United States will welcome up to 125,000 refugees in the first fiscal year of his administration — far above the record-low 15,000 last approved by Trump, who was a vociferous critic of non-Western immigration. “The United States’ moral leadership on refugee issues was a point of bipartisan consensus for so many decades when I first got here,” said Biden, who was elected to the Senate in 1972. “We shine the light, the lamp, of liberty on oppressed people. And our example pushed other countries to open wide their doors as well.” Among groups seeking asylum, Biden said his administration would welcome LGBTQ people fleeing persecution over their sexual orientation. Biden also put on hold plans set in motion by Trump to reduce the US troop presence in Germany, a cornerstone of NATO security since the start of the Cold War. Trump’s decision was seen as linked to his tense relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel — whose welcome to mostly Syrian migrants he belittled. Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd later said he had ordered a Pentagon review of US military “force posture” around the world. “We will consult our allies and partners as we conduct this review,” Lloyd said in a statement. “No one succeeds at this business alone.” – No more ‘rolling over’ to Russia – Biden has pledged to keep up Trump’s hard stance on China — but also to toughen the US stance on Russian President Vladimir Putin, for whom the defeated US president voiced admiration. “I made it clear to President Putin — in a manner very different from my predecessor — that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russia’s aggressive actions, interfering with our elections, cyber attack and poisoning its citizens are over,” Biden said. “We will not hesitate to raise the cost on Russia and defend our vital interest in our people.” Moments before the speech, the State Department said that Blinken spoke by telephone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and, among other issues, raised the purported poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny —who was arrested last month on his return to Moscow and has inspired thousands to take to the streets. Biden said the United States “must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy.” Source: AFP/BSS AH