Yemen’s Houthi rebels condemn new US-led taskforce in Red Sea

A sailor, assigned to the USS Cole, takes part in an exercise in the Red Sea (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Christopher Stachyra/US Navy via AP)

Yemen’s Houthis have criticised a new US-led taskforce that will patrol the Red Sea following a series of attacks by the Iran-backed rebels in a waterway that is essential to global trade.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthis’ chief negotiator and spokesman, said that the US move, which comes amid a ceasefire in the country’s civil war, contradicts Washington’s claim of supporting the UN-brokered truce.