No fewer than 33 people have died and over 80 others wounded after the US airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Friday.
It would mark one of the deadliest days of a campaign launched under US President Trump that has involved hundreds of strikes since 15 March.
According to the US military’s Central Command, the strikes, meant to deprive the rebels of “illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years,” hit the Ras Isa oil port.
The military added that, “This strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to throw off the yoke of Houthi subjugation and live peacefully.”
The Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel aired graphic footage of the aftermath of the attack, showing corpses strewn across the site.
It claimed paramedic and civilian workers at the port had been killed in the attack, which sparked a massive explosion and fires.
Recall that on April 9, the US state department issued a warning about oil shipments to Yemen.
An Associated Press said its review found the new US operation against the Houthis under Donald Trump appears more extensive than that under former president Joe Biden, as Washington moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel and dropping bombs on cities.
The new campaign of airstrikes started after the rebels threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip.