At least 58 people were killed in U.S. air strikes on a fuel port in Yemen, Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV said on Friday, in what could be the deadliest U.S. attack in Yemen since U.S. President Donald Trump ordered strikes on targets of the Iran-aligned rebels a month ago.
In the middle of March, the U.S. began air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, with the U.S. Department of Defense stating the attacks would continue until the Houthis stop attacking ships traversing the Red Sea.
The U.S. Central Command said on Thursday about the attack that “The Iran-backed Houthis use fuel to sustain their military operations, as a weapon of control, and to benefit economically from embezzling the profits from the import.”
“This fuel should be legitimately supplied to the people of Yemen. Despite the Foreign Terrorist Designation that went into effect on 05 April, ships have continued to supply fuel via the port of Ras Isa. Profits from these illegal sales are directly funding and sustaining Houthi terrorist efforts.”
The Central Command also noted that “US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years.”
The U.S. military said that the objective of the latest strikes was to reduce the economic source of power of the Houthis.
“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, their Iranian masters, and those who knowingly aid and abet their terrorist actions should be put on notice that the world will not accept illicit smuggling of fuel and war material to a terrorist organization,” the Central Command said.
The Houthis responded in a statement that “We affirm that the targeting of the Ras Isa oil port is a full-fledged war crime, as the port is a civilian facility and not a military one.”
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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