The Houthi rebels in Yemen do not give the impression that they want to give up ballast in the Red Sea. Sunday, January 14, at approximately 4:45 p.m. local time (2:45 p.m. Paris time), “an anti-ship cruise missile [a été] taken from the areas [contrôlées par les] Iran-backed Houthi fighters against the USS Laboon, an American destroyer operating in the southern Red Sea, the American Middle East Military Command (CentCom) said. “The missile was launched near the coast of Hodeidah [dans l’ouest du Yémen] by an American fighter jet,” CentCom added, saying there were no injuries or damage.
The attack appears to be the first to target a U.S. destroyer, amid attacks by Yemeni rebels on ships in the Red Sea that they believe are linked to Israel. Attacks in “solidarity” with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel and Hamas have been at war since the Palestinian movement's deadly attack on Israeli soil on October 7.
Washington has rejected reports from Houthi media of new “American-British attacks” on Sunday against the port city of Hodeida. “There were no US or coalition attacks today,” a US official said on condition of anonymity.
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Fear of the conflict spreading
US and British forces struck Houthi targets across Yemen on Friday, increasing fears of a regional expansion of the war between Israel and Hamas. The rebels then fired “at least one missile,” but it did not hit any ships, the US military said. Then, on Saturday morning, a new American attack was carried out against a radar facility in Yemen, the same source reported.
About 12% of global trade passes through the Red Sea, but since mid-November, Houthi attacks have forced many shipping companies to avoid the area and take the longer route around the tip of Africa, incurring additional transportation costs and longer delivery times .
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