Britain is reportedly considering airstrikes on Houthi rebels after the US said its navy sank three boats that had been targeting a container ship in the Red Sea.

Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said the government would not hesitate to take “direct action” to prevent further attacks amid reports the UK and US are preparing a joint statement to issue a final warning to the Yemeni group.

It comes after the US military said four boats from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen fired at the Maersk Hangzhou and came within metres of the vessel as US helicopters fired back.

Several crews on the armed Houthi boats were killed, the US Central Command (Centcom) said. No one was injured on the ship.

Writing in the Telegraph, Shapps said the UK “won’t hesitate to take further action to deter threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea”.

“The Houthis should be under no misunderstanding: we are committed to holding malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks,” he said.

  • @Arete
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    611 months ago

    That’s cool and all but I don’t think justifying terrorism by pointing back to events in the 1300s is particularly convincing. Literally every country and ethnic group has past grievances, but we can’t just constantly re-open them by killing the great-grandchildren of oppressors, and we shouldn’t excuse those that do.

    • @eskimofry
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      111 months ago

      It’s not just the 1300s. Its been the same shit since the 1300s.

      Colonialism isn’t isolated to the past. Europeans need to acknowledge their wealth and prosperity was mainly obtained through colonialism.