US, UK strike Houthi targets for second day

AL-MUKALLA, Yemen

US and UK jets struck Houthi targets in Yemen’s western province of Hodeidah on Monday, the second wave of strikes on Houthi-held territory in less than 48 hours.

The Houthi-run Al-Masirah channel reported that US and UK aircraft carried out one strike on the Al-Jabanah region of Hodeidah but provided no information on the targeted locations, casualties or damage.

The attack in Hodeidah came a day after the Houthis said that the two countries had conducted three airstrikes on unidentified targets in the Maytam region, north of Ibb province.

At the same time, US Central Command said on Sunday evening that over the past 24 hours, its forces had destroyed three Houthi drones and two missile systems in a Houthi-controlled Yemeni area, all of which were threatening US-led coalition ships and commercial vessels in international shipping lanes.

Houthi attacks on ships led the US to form a coalition of marine task forces to defend vessels, designate the Houthis as a terrorist group and launch strikes against Houthi-controlled Yemen, including Sanaa, Saada, Ibb and Hodeidah, in collaboration with the UK.

Hodeidah, Yemen’s only major coastal city under Houthi control, has received most of the US and UK strikes since January, as the militia is said to have used its coasts to launch explosive-laden and remote-controlled boats to attack ships.

The Houthis say their forces are only targeting Israeli-linked ships to pressure Tel Aviv into ending its Gaza war.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s government requested financial assistance from GCC countries on Monday to help shore up its faltering economy, stabilize the currency and pay public employees.

Rashad Al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, met UAE Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Hamad Al-Zaab in Riyadh on Monday to discuss “necessary” financial support to boost the country’s economy, improve Yemenis’ living conditions and assist government reforms, according to the official news agency, SABA.

It came as Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Awadh bin Mubarak arrived in Doha on Sunday to discuss Qatari financial assistance to Yemen, particularly in the electricity sector.

“The government is looking for new support from its brothers in the GCC countries,” a knowledgeable Yemeni government official who requested anonymity told Arab News.

The Yemeni government has lost almost 70 percent of its revenue since the Houthis attacked oil terminals in the provinces of Shabwa and Hadramout, causing a complete halt to oil exports.

The Yemeni riyal has continued to fall against the dollar, reaching about 1900 in government-controlled areas, compared to 215 riyals in 2015.

Public employees, including teachers and military personnel, have complained that their salaries have not been increased and that they are paid late.