British warships lack 'necessary capabilities' to hit Yemenis: Reports
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While US ships employ Tomahawk cruise missiles, the UK's sole choices are supposedly planes stationed 1,500 miles distant or submarines.
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The HMS Diamond off the coast of Scotland on October 4, 2020 (AP)
According to The Telegraph, the British naval ships dispatched to the Red Sea are not armed with missiles capable of attacking land targets in Yemen, a British defense source revealed.
At the end of November, the British government announced that it dispatched the Royal Navy ship HMS Diamond under the pretext of "reinforcing regional security" in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean.
According to the source, the Diamond destroyer stationed in the Red Sea did not strike the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF)' s land targets because it lacked the necessary capabilities.
The Telegraph detailed that the British navy's only ground attack weapons were artillery cannons situated at the front of each warship. While US ships employ Tomahawk cruise missiles, the UK's sole choices are supposedly planes stationed 1,500 miles distant or submarines.
Former UK Deputy Defense Minister Mark Francois was quoted saying that the British navy's lack of firepower was referenced in a defense committee report years ago, and capable missiles are still not operational.
Former Rear Adm. Chris Parry expressed the British navy could not "go toe to toe" with Russian or Chinese fleets, and that the Norwegian-made Naval Strike Missile, which is currently in trials, is a bluff.
The Yemeni Armed Forces' (YAF) Navy struck on Friday a British oil tanker, MARLIN LUANDA, in the Gulf of Aden, setting it ablaze, the spokesperson for the YAF, Brigadier General Yahya Saraee, said in a televised announcement.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) released an update on the ship's situation at around midnight, confirming that the vessel is still on fire hours after it was targeted.
Earlier, in response to the US and UK aggression on Yemen, Sanaa announced that both countries' "interests have become legitimate targets" for the armed forces.
Saree, confirming that the attack was conducted using undisclosed naval missiles, referring to them merely as "appropriate", reiterated that the YAF's operations will continue in the Red and Arabian seas against Israeli and "Israel"-bound ships until the Israeli war on Gaza is stopped and sufficient medicine and food are delivered to the besieged people in the Strip.
Al-Houthi: US must end war on Gaza, siege to safeguard prestige, ships
Member of Yemen's Supreme Political Council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, said on Saturday that the US must bring the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip to an end and lift the blockade if it wishes to maintain its maritime reputation and standing.
This statement was made during an armed tribal gathering north of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in a show of support for the resilience of the Palestinian Resistance and its people and to reaffirm support for the operations carried out by the Yemeni Armed Forces in support of Gaza.
Al-Houthi stated during the tribal gathering that "All that has been mobilized by the US, and all the battles it has overseen, as well as the planes and missiles it has used to bombard Yemen, have by no means deterred us from confronting it continuously."
He called on Washington to redirect its efforts toward ending the Israeli occupation's aggression against Gaza and the West Bank and lifting the blockade.
In turn, the tribes declared their complete readiness to partake in the battle of the Promised Conquest and Holy Jihad alongside the Yemeni Armed Forces in support of the Palestinian people and the al-Aqsa Mosque. In that context, al-Houthi emphasized the significance of preparedness and readiness to counter any escalation from the adversary.
