Houthis: US Naval Task Force Undermines Yemen Truce

Naval blockade is supposed to be loosened by ceasefire

Yemen’s Houthis are deeply critical of last week’s US announcement of a naval task force to patrol the Red Sea off the Yemeni coast, saying it contradicts the spirit of the UN-brokered truce which the US claims to support.

The US said the task force was meant to stop the smuggling of “coal, drugs, weapons, and people,” and tied it to cross-border fighting between Yemen and its neighbors.

The US narrative mirrors exactly the pretext for Saudi Arabia’s naval blockade of Yemen. The ceasefire has been a humanitarian disaster, and the UN-brokered ceasefire made easing the blockade a priority.

The ceasefire was just taking hold, and the blockade was easing, and then the US announced plans to scale it up. It is unsurprising that the Houthis have noticed this stands in start contrast to supposed US interest in ending the war.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.