Germany backs US, UK military strikes on Yemen

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) - Germany on Friday voiced support for the military strikes carried out by US and British forces targeting Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Houthis of continued attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, and claimed that the military response was legitimate.

“This response has our political support,” Baerbock told reporters during her visit to Malaysia, and argued that the military strikes were “in line with the individual and collective right to self-defense” embodied in the UN Charter.

Baerbock said Houthis were contributing “to the destabilization of an already tense regional situation” by attacking international maritime vessels in the Red Sea.

“Houthis must stop these attacks immediately,” the minister said, adding that Germany may take part in a possible EU naval mission to help protect Red Sea shipping.

The US and UK launched military strikes in Yemen late Thursday, which led to the death of five Houthi fighters and the injury of six others, according to the Yemeni authorities.

The strikes targeted multiple Houthi sites in Yemeni cities controlled by the Iranian-backed group, and followed a string of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea on Israeli-bound vessels.

The Red Sea is a critical waterway for international commerce, particularly for oil and fuel shipments, connecting the Suez Canal in Egypt with the Gulf of Aden via the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Russia on Friday condemned the US and UK for launching military strikes in Yemen, and demanded an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

"We condemn them (the strikes). From the point of view of international law, they are illegitimate,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a statement.