Macron says France will not attack Yemeni targets to avoid escalations
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French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirms his country's position regarding the recent coalition aggression on Yemen, opting for his country's non-engagement to prevent escalations in the region.
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French President Emmanuel Macron prepares to hold his first prime-time news conference to announce his top priorities for the year on January 16, 2024. (AP)
France will not carry out strikes on Yemeni positions to avoid escalation in the region, French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday.
"France has decided not to join the coalition that carried out preventive strikes against the positions of the Houthis on their territory because we want to avoid any escalation," Macron told a news conference aired by the Elysee Palace on X.
However, the French navy will persist in its involvement in "maintaining security in the Red Sea," the president emphasized, adding "We work toward protecting the freedom of maritime navigation. This is a diplomatic issue, not a military one."
This comes after France chose to refrain from signing a statement in support of US and UK airstrikes on the Yemeni resistance, citing its decision not to partake in bombing raids to protect Red Sea shipping, The Telegraph reported.
Earlier on Sunday, January 14th, an American-British aggression targeted Jabal Jida in al-Luhayyah District in the coastal province of Hodeidah, western Yemen, the Yemeni news agency SABA, based in Sanaa, reported.
This aggression marks the third consecutive attack carried out by the United States and the United Kingdom since January 12th at dawn, with strikes targeting the capital Sanaa, Taiz, al-Hajja, and Hodeidah.
The strikes came after media reports that the US and the UK are mulling possible strikes against the Yemeni forces in an attempt to curb their operations in the Red and the Arabian seas against Israeli and Israeli-bound ships, The Financial Times reported, citing informed sources.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
