British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said attacks by Houthi rebels could not continue with impunity and that overnight strikes by the U.S. and Britain should “degrade and disrupt” their ability to endanger shipping through the Red Sea.
“Over the last month, we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea,” he said while on a visit to Ukraine. “That’s putting innocent lives at risk, it’s disrupting the global economy and it’s also destabilizing the region.”
He said this “type of behavior can’t carry on” and reiterated his view that the strikes, which involved British Typhoon jets flying from a British base in Cyprus, were “proportionate and targeted.”
Sunak said initial indications are that the strikes were successful.
“People can’t act like this with impunity and that’s why together with allies we’ve decided to take this action,” he added.
He said he will make a statement to Parliament about the strikes on Monday.
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