NATO attempts to justify attack on Yemen.
The US and the UK also stated that they acted in self-defense when attacking Yemen.
247 - NATO considers the airstrikes in Yemen carried out by the United States and the United Kingdom to be 'defensive', AFP reported on Friday, citing the alliance.
Both countries also stated that they acted in self-defense when attacking Yemen. "U.S. forces retain the inherent right to self-defense, and if we decide to act, it will be at a time and place of our choosing," a Pentagon official told Sputnik.
“We have taken limited, necessary and proportionate measures in self-defense, alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada and Bahrain against targets linked to these attacks, to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping,” UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Sky News.
The U.S. and its allies fired more than 100 missiles at Houthi positions in four Yemeni provinces overnight Friday in retaliation for attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea. The Yemeni capital of Sana'a, the important port of Al Hudaydah, and the cities of Sadah and Taizz were all targeted in the attacks.
Who are the Houthis and why are they attacked? The Ansar Allah movement, also called the Houthis, was created in 1992 in the Saada province of northern Yemen. Its leader is Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, brother of the movement's founder, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, and the movement bears his surname.
The Houthis seized power in Yemen's capital, Sana'a, in September 2014, amid protests over the removal of state fuel subsidies. Since then, a military operation against the Houthis by the Saudi-led Arab coalition has helped bring several areas back under the control of pro-government forces.
Military action in Yemen is still ongoing, but it slowed down last year, and Saudi Arabia is negotiating with Oman.
The Houthis are accused of receiving weapons from Iran, but maintain a high degree of independence in decision-making and governance. With the start of the Palestinian genocide perpetrated by Israel in Gaza, the Houthis took an active stance against the Israeli regime, demanding a cessation of hostilities. The bombing of ships heading towards Israeli ports became a regular occurrence. (With information from Sputnik).