The British Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron has said on Friday afternoon that the airstrikes in Yemen against the Iranian backed Houthis militant group was “necessary.”
Lord Cameron gave the Houthis militants in Yemen a warning, saying that the UK is “prepared to act in self-defence in this way” which sends a “very clear message.”
Overnight the US and UK Navy destroyers fired Tomahawk cruise missiles and submarines in the region were also used as part of a strike force.
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Sources have said that “many” British and US warplanes were involved and entered Yemeni airspace overnight.
Lord Cameron said in a statement, “When you have attack after attack, even though you’ve had warning after warning, ultimately, this military action was necessary.
“I think it was proportionate. It was legal and it was absolutely right to do. And I think it sends a very clear message to the Houthis but also to Iran as well.”
The British Foreign Secretary has not ruled out that there will be further airstrikes on Houthis locations inside Yemen.
Lord Cameron added, “We will do what is necessary to protect our ships.
“Warnings were not working.
“The number of attacks were increasing and the severity of those attacks were increasing. This escalation has been caused by the Houthis.
“This action is in response to that – to send a very clear message that if you act in this way, there aren’t just warnings, there are consequences.”
Thousands of Yemenis have taken to the capital Sana’a to support the Houthis following the airstrikes overnight by the US and UK.
According to Sky News special correspondent Alex Crawford the airstrikes could push more Yemenis to back the Houthis militants.
Crawford said, “There is no love lost between much of the Yemeni people and America and Britain because of what they see as their negligence in trying to stop what has been going on in Yemen.
“There has been a very protracted civil war for around 10 years.
“They [UK and US] are seen by people in Yemen as fuelling a war by supporting and being part of the Saudi-led coalition.”
She added, “most of the Yemeni population may not like the Houthis but they absolutely abhor what is going on in Gaza.”
