US Navy Sends Aircraft Carrier 'Theodore Roosevelt' to Yemen

© REUTERS / U.S. NavyHelicopters fly from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt
Helicopters fly from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt - Sputnik International
Subscribe
The United States is sending an aircraft carrier and a guided missile destroyer to Yemen in response to instability in the war-torn country, the US Navy said on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The two warships will join seven US warships in the area and come as Iran said it had dispatched nine warships toward Yemen.

Smoke billows from the Faj Attan Hill following a reported airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition on an army arms depot, now under Huthi rebel control, on April 20, 2015, in Sanaa - Sputnik International
Saudi Strike Near Embassy in Yemen Unlikely to Worsen Conflict With Iran
The aircraft carrier USS “Theodore Roosevelt and [guided-missile cruiser USS] Normandy have joined other US forces conducting maritime security operations in the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb and the Southern Red Sea,” the US Navy said.

“In recent days, the US Navy has increased its presence in this area as a result of the current instability in Yemen,” it added.

US officials suspect the Iranian warships are carrying arms to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, which the United States and Saudi Arabia claim are backed by Iran. Tehran denies the charges.

Yemeni men check a damaged street following a raid by Saudi-led coalition warplanes on a nearby missile depot on Fajj Attan hill, in the rebel-held part of the Yemeni capital, in southern Sanaa, on April 20, 2015 - Sputnik International
Iran Summons Saudi Envoy After Coalition Attack in Sanaa
The UN Security Council passed a resolution on Tuesday imposing an arms embargo on the Houthis and on forces loyal to the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who are allied against the ousted Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Saudi Arabia’s navy has implemented a blockade of Yemen’s ports.

The Houthis have taken over large swaths of Yemen since taking over the capital Sanaa in September 2014 and ousting Hadi in February 2015.

Late in March 2015, Hadi asked the Arab League for military aid, prompting a Saudi Arabia-led coalition to begin bombing Houthi positions in Yemen. Several hundred civilians have been killed in the Saudi-led airstrikes.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала