let s get more now from our security correspondent frank gardner on who the houthis are and what the effect of their attacks has been. armed, angry and defiant. yemen s houthi rebels. a tribal mountain militia that controls much of yemen and its red sea coast. they ve declared their support for hamas in gaza and, since november, they ve been attacking ships in the red sea. britain, the us and the un have all demanded a stop to the attacks. we cannot have a situation where a major sea route, a major ability to move goods around the world, is being cut off by terrorists and thugs, and we therefore must act. this was a heli borne raid they did on a container ship in november, seizing the vessel and its crew and steering it back to yemen. the houthis have defied all warnings to stop targeting shipping. translation: we are more determined to continue - to target ships linked to israel and we will not back down from that. our position stems
they have hit airfields and missile storage sites and in one case at least a command and control centre, but they have tried, i think quite carefully, to minimise casualties. they have been after equipment and sites rather than people. but it s too early to judge whether they re a success or not. did they hit the targets they intended? yes. will they have the desired effect? i think that we re going to have to wait and see, because the houthis have vowed to continue their attacks on shipping and i think probably i would compare this to the missile strikes that took place against very limited targets in syria some years ago, in response to syria s use of chemical weapons. it didn t really have the desired effect. and the houthis are quite a resilient bunch they are a tribal mountain militia
the houthis spokesman has also responded. he said. our reporter louisa pilbeam has more details. uk fighterjets launched their attacks on yemen from an raf base in cyprus overnight, directed by the prime minister tojoin us planes striking yemeni rebel targets. the results were captured on houthi television, showing these explosions and reporting significant damage in cities, including the capital, sanaa. yemen s houthi rebels are a tribal mountain militia that controls much
explosions and reporting significant damage in cities including the capital sanaa. yemen s houthi rebels are a tribal mountain militia that controls much of yemen and its red sea co . they have declared their support for hamas in gaza and since november have been attacking ships in the red sea. written, the us and un have all demanded a stop to the attacks. the uk government say they have been forced to act after giving repeated warning. we been forced to act after giving repeated warning. repeated warning. we cannot have a situation repeated warning. we cannot have a situation where repeated warning. we cannot have a situation where a repeated warning. we cannot have a situation where a ma or have a situation where a major sea route, a major ability to move goods around the world has been cut off by terrorists and thugs and we therefore must act. , . , thugs and we therefore must act. , . , . ., act. this was a houthi helicopter act. this was a houthi helicopter brain - act. this w
may perhaps help with that. but you re right, it is inevitable that several republican candidates, especially of course the front runner in the presidential republican nominee race, former president donald trump, ithink race, former president donald trump, i think he and others will use this as a stick to beat mr biden in this crucial election year. beat mr biden in this crucial election year. thank you very much indeed. election year. thank you very much indeed. thank- election year. thank you very much indeed. thank you. - let s get more now from our security correspondent frank gardner, on who the houthis are, and what the effect of their attacks has been. armed, angry and defiant. yemen s houthi rebels. a tribal mountain militia that controls much of yemen and its red sea coast.