CAIRO (AP) – Yemen’s Houthi rebels said the United States (US) military launched a series of airstrikes on the capital, Sanaa, and the Houthi-held coastal city of Hodeida, less than two days after a US strike wrecked a Red Sea port and killed more than 70 people.
The Houthis’ media office said 13 US airstrikes hit an airport and a port in Hodeida, on the Red Sea. The office also reported US strikes in the capital Sanaa.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The US military’s Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said it continues to conduct strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.
The strike on Thursday hit the port of Ras Isa, also in Hodeida province, killing 74 people and wounding 171 others, according to the Houthi-run Health Ministry. It was the deadliest strike in the US ongoing bombing campaign on the Iranian-backed rebels.
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “gravely concerned” about the attack on Ras Isa, as well as the Houthis missile and drone attacks on Israel and the shipping routes, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
“The secretary-general recalls that international law, including international humanitarian law as applicable, must be respected at all times, and he appeals to all to respect and protect civilians as well as civilian infrastructure,” Dujarric said.
US Central Command declined to answer any questions about possible civilian casualties. It referred to a statement in which it said “this strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen.”
The strikes on Hodeida have been part of a month-long US bombing campaign, which the Trump administration said came about because of the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on Israel.
About 200 people have been killed in the US campaign since March 16, according to the Houthis’ Health Ministry.
