Deputy Foreign Minister of the Yemeni government in Sana’a, Hussein Al-Ezzi, warned on Tuesday, August 8, that any approach by the US forces to enter the territorial waters of Yemen could lead to “the beginning of the longest and most costly battle in human history.”
The warning came after the US military announced on Monday the arrival of over 3,000 US troops in the Red Sea onboard two warships on Sunday.
Al-Ezzi said that US forces should avoid Yemen’s territorial waters for the safety of navigation in the Red Sea and international peace.
The US Fifth Fleet claimed in a statement on Monday that the surge in troop deployment was primarily due to alleged threats from Iran to ships in the region. Yemenis are apprehensive of the move as the US navy in the region has been involved in implementing the Saudi Arabia-led blockade of Yemen since 2015.
The comprehensive air, sea and land blockade of Yemen is part of the Saudi-led war in the country and has created a massive humanitarian crisis, pushing millions to the verge of starvation and death due to lack of medical facilities and food grains that are mostly imported.
Several Yemenis have expressed concern about the US decision to increase its troop deployment as thousands of foreign troops are already present in the region and the Fifth Fleet of the US navy is headquartered in Bahrain.
Ali al-Qahoum, a member of the highest decision making body of the Houthi (Ansar Allah) group which is leading the government in Yemen, said in a Twitter post that they were watching the movement of US troops in the region carefully, Sputnik Arabic reported.
Al-Qahoum said that “this unjustified military presence represents a threat to the region in the first place, especially in the American preemptive moves in controlling and intensive presence in Bab-al-Mandeb which threatens international and regional security and represents a flagrant violation of international norms and laws.”
Bab al-Mandeb is the strategic gateway between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea which ultimately joins with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean.
US deployment of additional troops is also opposed by Iranians who claim that the US has no legitimate reason to be there as countries in the region are capable of defending themselves.
The increased troop deployment by the US is being seen as a provocative step and dangerous for regional peace, with several experts commenting that it may lead to an arms race in the region. Experts also see the surge as a reaction to Iran’s normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia under Chinese mediation earlier this year, as the US is fearful about losing its closest ally in the region and its strategic advantage.
