UK Won't Send Troops into Yemen, UK Deputy PM Reveals
- VIVA.co.id/Arianti Widya
Yemen – Britain will not send ground troops into combat against Houthi militants in Yemen, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said on Thursday, adding that air strikes had weakened the Iran-backed group.
The United States and Britain have, since January, hit Houthi targets in Yemen with air strikes following months of Houthi attacks on commercial and naval ships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis say the attacks, which have disrupted global trade, are a response to Israel’s assault on Gaza.
“Let’s be absolutely clear from the start. We have no plans whatsoever to put boots on the ground,” Dowden said in an interview at the British ambassador’s residence in Abu Dhabi, as reported from Arab News site.
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- Dan Peled/AAP Image via AP.
He said the air strikes, which have garnered some international support, were aimed at reducing the Houthis’ ability to threaten vessels in the Red Sea and not at ousting the group, which outlasted a years-long Saudi bombing campaign.
The attacks on Red Sea shipping have raised the profile of the Yemeni movement, which took control over large parts of the impoverished country a decade ago. Many citizens in the Middle East see the Houthis as the only Arab force taking on Israel.
Major shipping lines have largely abandoned the major Red Sea trade route for longer routes around Africa. This has increased costs, sparking concerns for global inflation and sapped Egypt of crucial foreign revenue it would normally earn from shippers sailing the Suez Canal to or from the Red Sea.
Dowden said he was confident the military strikes were a step in degrading the Houthis’ capability to threaten the Red Sea, and part of broader measures that include sanctions on Houthi figures.
“We need to tighten the pressure on the Houthis because at the root of this lies a commitment from the United Kingdom to ensure stability and free trade of goods and movement," Dowden explained.
