Anti-Houthi coalition to defend the Red Sea: Italy is also in the US task force
Iran-allied Yemeni rebels have launched several attacks against commercial vessels and warships since the war in Gaza beganThe United States announced a 10-nation coalition against Houthi attacks in the Red Sea .
Italy, France, Great Britain, Bahrain, Canada, Holland, Norway, Spain and Seychelles will also participate in the "multinational security" initiative.
It is a naval task force to counter the continuous Houthi attacks which "threaten the free flow of trade, endanger innocent sailors and violate international law" .
“Countries that seek to uphold the fundamental principle of freedom of navigation must come together to meet the challenge posed by this non-state actor,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
The response from the group of Yemeni rebels, allies of Iran, was immediate: the Houthis, through a member of the group's politburo, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, stated that «they will be able to face any coalition formed by the US that could deploy in the Sea Red" .
Since early December, a US warship and several commercial vessels have come under attack by Houthi rebels, a series of attacks that have been claimed as a response to Israel and the war in Gaza.
(Unioneonline/L)