image1
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (File photo by Anadolu news agency)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized the United States and Britain for launching military strikes against targets in Yemen, stating that the two countries are trying to turn the Red Sea into a "sea of blood".

"All of these actions involve the use of disproportionate force. Israel is also using disproportionate force in Palestine," Erdogan told reporters on Friday in Istanbul.

He added that the US and the UK try to turn the Red Sea into a "sea of blood."

Erdogan also noted that Yemeni air defenses have intercepted and shot down most of the incoming missiles.

"We receive information from various sources that the Houthis have made a very successful defense, provided a successful response, against both the US and the UK," the Turkish leader said.

Early on Friday, US and British forces launched air, ship and submarine strikes against targets across Yemen.

"American-Zionist-British aggression against Yemen launches several raids on the capital Sana’a, Hudaydah governorate, Sa’ada, and Dhamar," Houthi official Abdul Qader al-Mortada wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

US President Joe Biden confirmed the assaults, saying they were conducted by the United States and Britain, with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands.

Yemeni protesters condemn joint US, UK aggression

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people staged massive rallies in Yemen, where participants denounced the joint military aggression against their country.

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.

The relentless Israeli military campaign against Gaza has killed at least 23,708 people, most of them women and children. Another 60,005 individuals have been wounded.

Reports revealed that Israeli shipping companies have already decided to reroute their vessels in fear of attacks by Yemeni forces.

Yemeni forces have also launched missile and drone attacks on targets in the Israeli-occupied territories after the regime’s aggression on Gaza.

Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, stressed on Friday that "the brutal aggression will not deter Yemen from supporting the oppressed Palestinian nation."