A plume of smoke billows over Sana'a, capital of Yemen, following US-British airstrikes, March 15, 2025. Photo: AFP.
At least 31 people, including women and children were killed and more than 100 were injured in a series of US-British airstrikes on the Yemeni capital of Sana’a and the provinces of Sa’ada, Dhamar, Hajjah, and al-Bayda.
The late night attack on Saturday, March 15, marks the first western airstrikes to hit Yemen since the Gaza ceasefire deal took effect in January. It also comes days after the Trump administration added the Yemeni resistance movement Ansarallah to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO).
Yemeni journalist Kamal Sharaf and RT news identified that US airbases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were involved in the attack.
BREAKING | US warplanes launch airstrikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa. pic.twitter.com/m8xKGZ0ehd
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) March 15, 2025
Airstrikes launched by US and British warplanes on a residential neighborhood in the Sha’ub district of the Yemeni capital killed nine and wounded nine others, Yemeni Health Ministry spokesperson, Anis al-Asbahi, reported initially.
“Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets and to restore Navigational Freedom,” US President Donald Trump said in a social media post following the attacks.
“No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World,” Trump added, referring to the Yemeni Armed Forces’ (YAF) naval blockade on “Israel”-linked vehicles passing through designated operational areas in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and Gulf of Aden, announced earlier this week with an aim of forcing the Zionist entity to allow the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “This strike [in Yemen] is a warning to Iran, which supports Yemen and the Houthis. We will not tolerate Houthi attacks on our soldiers, ships, and aircraft.”
Yemeni authorities vow “painful response”
On Sunday, March 16, the Supreme Political Council of Yemen condemned the blatant US-British aggression on the country, considering it as a support for the Israeli entity, and vowed a “painful response.”
“Targeting civilians proves US weakness; this will not deter us from supporting Gaza but will instead escalate the situation to something even stronger and more severe,” the council said in a statement
“We reassure the steadfast Yemeni people and affirm that the aggressors will be punished in a professional and painful manner, by the will of God,” the statement added.
“The US, along with the Zionist entity, will fail and retreat in disgrace and defeat, just as they did during the Al-Aqsa Flood battle,” the council stressed.
The council stated that the airstrikes on Yemen mark a return to the militarization of the Red Sea, posing a real threat to international navigation in the region, and it called on the the international community to fulfill its responsibilities in the face of the “reckless US-Israeli aggression” which will have consequences for all.
“Yemen remains committed to supporting and assisting Palestine and that naval operations will continue until the blockade on Gaza is lifted and humanitarian aid is allowed in,” the statement emphasized.
‘Israeli’ Ceasefire Violations Continue – Drone Strikes Kill Two Children in Gaza
Similarly, the Yemeni Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the US-British aggression on the nation in the strongest terms.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called this aggression a blatant violation of Yemen’s sovereignty, stability, and territorial integrity, as well as the United Nations Charter and international law.
The ministry pointed out that the aim of the US aggression is to deter Yemen from its position of support for the Palestinian people and to protect the occupying Zionist entity, enabling it to continue the genocidal crimes it has been committing against the Palestinian people in Gaza for over 15 months with US support.
The ministry further stated that the latest airstrikes on Yemen are part of the ongoing aggression against the nation that was started by Washington on March 26, 2015, which has caused the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
The ministry called on the international community, including the United Nations Security Council and the free peoples of the world, to condemn the blatant US aggression on Yemen.
Ansarallah spokesperson calls out Trump’s false claims
Mohammed Abdulsalam, spokesperson for the Ansarallah movement, condemned Trump’s claims about an alleged Yemeni threat to international navigation in the Red Sea area, and stressed that international navigation in the Red Sea remains safe from the Yemeni side.
“The claims made by the US president about an alleged threat to international navigation in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait are false and misleading to global public opinion,” he stated. “The maritime siege announced by Yemen in support of Gaza exclusively targets ‘Israeli’ shipping in order to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches the people of Gaza as per the ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian resistance and the Zionist entity.”
Condemning the airstrikes on Yemen, he stated, “The US airstrikes on Yemen are an open aggression against an independent state and serve as encouragement for the Zionist enemy to persist in its unjust siege on Gaza.”
Despite the continued Western onslaught, Yemen remains undeterred in its military campaign. The YAF forced several US aircraft carriers and European warships out of the Red Sea, and has downed 15 US MQ-9 Reaper drones to date.
Yemen begins retaliation operations against US fleets
Following the condemnations, the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out an operation against the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. According to a statement by Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e, the YAF targeted “the carrier Truman and its accompanying naval vessels in the northern Red Sea with 18 ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones.”
Special for Orinoco Tribune by Saheli Chowdhury and Dalal al-Zainabi
OT/SC/DZ
Saheli Chowdhury
Saheli Chowdhury is from West Bengal, India, studying physics for a profession, but with a passion for writing. She is interested in history and popular movements around the world, especially in the Global South. She is a co-editor and contributor for Orinoco Tribune.
Dalal al-Zainabi
Dalal is a contributor and volunteer for Orinoco Tribune.
