UK and US need to arm forces to fight Houthis on the ground and stop Red Sea attacks, Yemeni officials say

The Houthis will continue carrying out attacks in the Red Sea unless they are faced by forces on the ground in addition to the current Western air campaign, according to senior members of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.

The US and UK are engaged in military strikes to combat the threat from the militia against international shipping in one of the world’s busiest trade routes which is causing severe damage to the world economy.

But the Houthis are well able to sustain losses due to the huge arsenal they have built up, warned the Yemeni officials. The militia started their campaign in retaliation for the Israeli invasion of Gaza and have vowed to carry on until there is a ceasefire, but they are highly unlikely to abandon the leverage they have gained through their ability to hit international shipping.

The only effective way the US and UK can counter that would be to arm and train the forces of the UN-backed government to take part in ground operations against the Houthis while providing air cover, they told The Independent during a visit to London.

The strife in the Red Sea shows no sign of ending at present. The Biden administration claimed this week that Iran and Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group, have sent teams to Yemen to help the Houthis launch their assaults.

Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for Yemen, told a Senate subcommittee in Washington that the Iranian and Hezbollah operatives are “equipping and facilitating” drone and missile strikes aimed at commercial vessels and American and British warships.

“Credible public reports suggest a significant number of Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah operatives are supporting attacks from inside Yemen,” he said, adding that the Houthis are not being deterred by the Western armed response they have faced so far.

“The fact that they have continued this [campaign] and have said publicly that they will not stop until there’s a ceasefire in Gaza is an indication that we’re not yet at the point, unfortunately, where they do intend to dial back,” said Mr Lenderking.

A decade of brutal civil war in Yemen had resulted in the death of more than 150,000 people by bombs and bullets. Another 227,000 are estimated, by the UN, of dying from famine and lack of basic healthcare.

A military intervention by a Saudi led coalition of Gulf states, Egypt and Pakistan, backed by the West, lasted for more than seven years before a recent ceasefire agreement between the Saudis and the Houthis.

Two officials from the Southern Transitional Council (STC), part of the UN-recognised Yemeni government, are in London to meet Foreign Office diplomats and politicians, before going to Washington for talks with the state department and members of Congress.

Preliminary talks on the Houthi crisis took place between with foreign secretary David Cameron last month at the Davos economic forum where the scale of the commercial harm caused by the Red Sea attacks was one of the main topics under discussion.

The senior STC officials, Amr Al-Bidh and Nabeel Bin-Lasem, stressed that their visit to the UK and US follow growing concern in the Middle East and beyond about the long-term danger posed by the Houthis. Egypt has been particularly hard hit by vessels diverting from the Suez Canal to sail around Africa.

The Houthis are part of the “Axis of Resistance” comprised of Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and Iraqi and Syrian Shia, a common front against America and Israel, set up in the region. And, apart from Hamas fighting in Gaza, the Houthis have been the most militarily active among the Axis.

“Operations on the ground does not mean that the UK or US have to do it themselves. It does not mean it means empowering the Yemeni government so they can do this”, said Mr Al-Bidh. “We have forces which are capable and also experienced against the Houthis, so preparation for any operation that needs to take place should not take too long.

“Cutting the smuggling from the Iranians to Yemen as much as possible would be a big step, it is the smuggling which is keeping the Houthis supplied.”

The southern part of Yemen, outside Houthi control, has suffered greatly from the disruption to shipping with an acute shortage of essential products including food and fuel. The UN-backed government want security operations to be accompanied by a raft of economic measures against the Houthis, including sanctions on individuals and organisations, and encouraging international bodies to move out of Houthi run areas.

“A comprehensive approach would be the deterrence which would tackle the Houthis and limit the threat they pose now and in the future”, said Mr Al-Bidh. “ Otherwise the West may have to keep going back to carry out air strikes each time they threaten freedom of navigation.”