Boehner defends deployment of American warships near Yemen

Middle East, News, US April 23, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

Speaker of the US House of Representatives John Boehner has defended the deployment of American warships near Yemen due to the situation in the country.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Boehner said the United States should assist its allies in the region.

“I think having our ships in place is the right thing to do. Hopefully, their involvement will not be needed,” he said.

On Tuesday, the US military deployed the USS Theodore Roosevelt off the coast of Yemen to join three other American amphibious ships and two destroyers.

The Navy said in a statement the Roosevelt had left the Persian Gulf on Sunday along with guided missile destroyer USS Normandy.

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

On March 26, Saudi Arabia started its military aggression against Yemen without a UN mandate in a bid to restore power to the fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a close ally of Riyadh.

On April 21, Saudi government spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri announced the termination of the first phase of the attacks against Yemen.

He added that Saudi Arabia would launch a second phase of its aggression, targeting the Houthi Ansarullah movement’s fighters in Yemen.

The International Committee of the Red Cross warned of the disastrous humanitarian situation in Yemen.

“The humanitarian situation is nothing short of catastrophic,” Robert Mardini, the ICRC’s head of operations for the Middle East, said in Geneva on Wednesday.

Yemen’s Health Ministry announced that 951 people were killed and 3,943 others were wounded in the nearly month-long military aggression.