• Another ship was abandoned, with the US admitting three crew members were killed
• The US and UK strategies to deter the Houthis have been failing, with the first cargo-ship casualties reported since the Houthis started their campaign
After months of continuous US and UK bombardments of the Houthi run provinces of Yemen, which had already been in a state of famine long before the genocide in Gaza had begun, it becomes apparent that neither the US nor its staunch ally the UK is able to deter its aggression from taking place. Yemen’s Houthis have said time and time again that they could only reconsider their missile strikes in the Red Sea if Israel ends its ‘aggression’ in the Gaza Strip. Yet even when real economic consequences are at stake in the global community, it becomes apparent that neither the UK nor the US seem to budge on their failing strategy. The US and UK have launched four joint strikes against so-called Houthi targets since the start of this year, but the Houthi have only stepped up their attacks without any sign of backing down.
A series of Houthi attacks over the last 5 days
Only on Sunday did the Belize flagged Rubymar cargo ship sink in the Red Sea, two weeks after it was attacked by Houthi missiles. On Monday, the MSC Sky II container ship was hit by a Houthi missile, leading to the Indian Navy putting out a fire on board. On Tuesday, US forces shot down a ballistic missile and three drones that were fired at the USS Carney, followed by three anti-ship missiles and three sea-drones. Yesterday, the Houthis attacked a Barbados flagged cargo ship. US central command had said yesterday’s attack had killed three crew members and injured at least four. Three of them have been critically injured. They also added that the ship had to be abandoned.
At the beginning of the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, the Houthi were unable to seriously damage any ships to the extent that they had to be abandoned, nor were they able to cause any casualties. Yesterday’s attack is the first time Houthi attacks have caused casualties, and it is another rare moment when an entire ship has had to be abandoned. This shows the evolution of techniques and improvements in weapon usage that the Houthis have developed throughout their attacks.
All in all, we find that even after the US and UK have launched more than four attacks this year against the Houthi, claiming to target Houthi weapon facilities, they are indeed incapable of preventing them from action but rather are only strengthening them and giving them the military experience that could prove deadly in the future. The Houthis have recruited and trained more than 200,000 people since the start of their Red Sea attacks, with the geopolitical consequences in the region now becoming more uncertain by the day. This, coupled with President Joe Biden’s domestic worries, will add pressure on the White House to call for an immediate ceasefire.
