[pjw] NEWS: Ending the year with a bang: US kills 10 Yemenis, sinks boats

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hello PJW supporters
Well I do like to keep a positive outlook, so I'll say let's hope the US 
doesn't do any more killing as part of its "Operation Prosperity Guardian" 
off the coast of Yemen. Yesterday, they used helicopters to fire upon 
"Houthi militants" who were firing guns at a container ship in the Red 
Sea. They say they killed all 10 people aboard the three small boats, but 
also sank the boats.

This article from Al Jazeera outlines the broader picture: The Yemenis 
want a ceasefire by Israel, the US has numerous "partner countries" but 
they're the only ones actually patrolling, this was the first time the US 
killed _people_ along with inanimate objects since launching the mission 
(to protect the oil trade).

Anyway, always a lot to do in order to promote peace and not an expansion 
of this war through the whole middle east, but maybe that's not America's 
plan. ?

dan handelman
peace and justice works iraq affinity group

  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/1/us-sinks-houthi-boats-in-the-red-sea-how-did-the-fight-unfold
US sinks Houthi boats in the Red Sea: How did the fight unfold?
    Shipping company Maersk halts operations after maritime escalation
    between the Houthis and US forces.
    Published On 1 Jan 20241 Jan 2024

    The US military says it killed 10 Houthi fighters and sank three of the
    Yemeni armed group's vessels after a clash in the Red Sea.

    The escalation, mentioned in a US statement on Sunday, follows weeks of
    Houthi attacks on ships it identified as being linked to Israel that
    were passing through the Bab el-Mandeb strait into the Red Sea.

    This was, the Houthi spokesman said, in a bid to pressure Israel to
    stop its devastating war and siege on the Gaza Strip that has killed
    more than 21,000 Palestinians.

    US destroyers have teamed up with a few other nations to try and stop
    the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea under Operation Prosperity Guardian -
    though several partners have distanced themselves from the initiative.

    The Red Sea clash on Monday was the first major direct military
    engagement between the US military and Houthi fighters. Here is what we
    know about how it all unfolded:

What happened on Sunday?

    On Sunday at 6:30am Yemen time (03:30 GMT), the container ship Maersk
    Hangzhou issued a second distress call in a day, reporting being
    attacked by four "Houthi small boats", the US Central Command (CENTCOM)
    posted on X.

    In response to the distress call, CENTCOM said, the USS Gravely shot
    down two anti-ship missiles fired at the Maersk vessel then helicopters
    from the Gravely and the USS Eisenhower were dispatched towards the
    Maersk Hangzhou.

Why are the Houthis attacking ships in the Red Sea?

    The Houthis began launching drones and missiles towards the southern
    parts of Israel in October soon after the war broke out on October 7.

    However, the drones were intercepted or fell short and the Iran-backed
    group started attacking ships in the Red Sea they said were linked to
    Israel.

    Their attacks have disrupted many ships for making their way to Israel.

    On December 19, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced a
    multinational maritime protection force but the Houthis have said they
    will not back down unless Israel ceases its war on Gaza.

    Despite several countries agreeing to join the US's marine force, only
    the United Kingdom has directly contributed warships, leaving
    Washington to effectively "act alone" against the Houthis, reports Al
    Jazeera's Resul Serdar from Djibouti.

    Serdar added that the US has "not been able to deter the Houthis" so
    far, with the group waging attacks even more frequently.

    He added that the latest clash marked a serious escalation because the
    US killed Houthi fighters, not only sank Houthi boats. Such
    confrontations are sparking fears of a regional escalation.

Why did the US sink Houthi boats?

    The US's CENTCOM says that its helicopters warned the Houthi fighters
    to stay away when they began to attack the cargo ship with small arms
    fire and tried to board the vessel.

    At that point, CENTCOM said, the helicopters came under fire and fired
    back, killing the 10 Houthi crew members of three boats which also
    sank.

    The fourth boat escaped and US personnel and equipment did not bear
    harm, CENTCOM added.

    "We're going to act in self-defence going forward," a White House
    official said.

    A spokesman for the Houthis confirmed that 10 of their fighters were
    "dead and missing" after their boats were attacked.

      Iranian-backed Houthi small boats attack merchant vessel and U.S.
      Navy helicopters in Southern Red Sea

      On Dec. 31 at 6:30am (Sanaa time) the container ship MAERSK HANGZHOU
      issued a second distress call in less than 24 hours reporting being
      under attack by four Iranian-backed... pic.twitter.com/pj8NAzjbVF
      -- U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 31, 2023

How have Maersk and other shipping firms reacted?

    Maersk announced on Sunday that it was pausing all sailing through the
    Red Sea for the next 48 hours.

    Together with German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk operates
    almost a quarter of the world's shipping fleet.

    Other shipping firms have also responded to the escalating maritime
    conflict. Shipping firm Evergreen has temporarily stopped accepting
    Israeli cargo.

    Firms including CH Robinson, Evergreen, HMM, Ocean Network Express,
    Wallenius Wilhelmsen and Yang Ming Marine Transport are planning to
    avoid the Red Sea and increase the number of ships rerouting around
    Africa's Cape of Good Hope rather than the Suez Canal. This new route
    is longer and costlier.

    While these attacks have had a "fairly limited" impact on the oil
    market so far, experts postulate that prices could rise if the
    situation continues.

    Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies