The Huthis began targeting shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November 2023, claiming to act in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, and American forces have been hammering them with strikes in a bid to stop the attacks.
"Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company... is directly supporting Iran-backed Huthi terrorist attacks on US interests," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told journalists.
"Their actions -- and Beijing's support of the company, even after our private engagements with them -- is yet another example of China's empty claims to support peace," she said.
Bruce did not initially provide details on the nature of the company's support for the rebels, but later referred to "a Chinese company providing satellite imagery to the Huthis."
A spokesman for Beijing's foreign ministry said Friday he was "not aware of the situation" when asked about the US accusations, adding that "China has been actively working to ease" tensions in the Red Sea.
"It is clear to the international community who is promoting peace and dialogue to ease tensions, and who is imposing sanctions and pressure to escalate them," spokesman Lin Jian added at the regular press conference.
Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company was sanctioned by Washington in 2023 for allegedly providing high-resolution imagery to Russian private military company Wagner, which played a major role in Moscow's war against Ukraine but has since been disbanded.
Huthi attacks have prevented ships from passing through the Suez Canal -- a vital route between Asia and Europe that normally carries about 12 percent of world shipping traffic -- forcing many companies into a costly detour around the tip of southern Africa.
US President Donald Trump's administration launched a new round of military action against the Huthis starting on March 15, and the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Thursday that American strikes had destroyed the Ras Issa fuel port in Yemen.
"US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Huthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Huthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years," CENTCOM said in a statement.
"The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Huthis, who continue to exploit and bring great pain upon their fellow countrymen," it added.
The United States first began conducting strikes against the Huthis under the Biden administration, and Trump has vowed that military action against the rebels would continue until they are no longer a threat to shipping.
Deadly US strikes hit Yemen fuel port used by Huthis
Sanaa (AFP) April 18, 2025 -
The US military said it had destroyed a key Yemeni fuel port as it targets the country's Huthi rebels, who said Friday that 20 people had been killed in the strikes.
The attack on the Ras Issa fuel port aimed to cut off a source of supplies and funds for the Iran-backed Huthis, the US military said.
Washington has hammered the Huthis with near-daily air strikes since March 15 in a bid to end their attacks on civilian shipping and military vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The rebels began their attacks in late 2023, claiming solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
"US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Huthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Huthi efforts to terrorise the entire region for over 10 years," the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
"The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Huthis, who continue to exploit and bring great pain upon their fellow countrymen," CENTCOM said.
Ships "have continued to supply fuel via the port of Ras Issa" despite Washington designating the rebels a foreign terrorist organisation earlier this year, the military command added, without specifying the source of the fuel.
Huthi health ministry spokesman Anees Alasbahi said the preliminary death toll stood at 20, including five paramedics.
There were also "50 wounded workers and employees at the Ras Issa oil port, following the American aggression", he said on X.
"The death toll is likely to rise as body parts are still being identified," he added.
- Fireball -
In images broadcast early Friday by the rebels' Al-Masira channel, which it presented as the "first images of the US aggression" against the port, a fireball lit up the area around the ships, while thick columns of smoke rose above what appeared to be an ongoing blaze.
"Civil defence rescue teams and paramedics are making every effort to search for and extract victims and extinguish the fire," said Alasbahi.
The port lies along the west coast of Yemen on the Red Sea.
Huthi attacks have hampered shipping through the Suez Canal -- a vital route that normally carries about 12 percent of world shipping traffic -- forcing many companies into a costly detour around the tip of southern Africa.
The United States first began conducting strikes against the Huthis under president Joe Biden's administration, and his successor President Donald Trump has vowed that military action against the rebels would continue until they are no longer a threat to shipping.
On Thursday evening, France's Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said a French frigate in the Red Sea destroyed a drone launched from Yemen.
"Our armed forces continue their commitment to ensuring maritime freedom of movement," he said on X.
US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told journalists Thursday that the Chinese satellite firm Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company was "directly supporting Iran-backed Huthi terrorist attacks on US interests".
"Their actions -- and Beijing's support of the company, even after our private engagements with them -- is yet another example of China's empty claims to support peace," she said.
Bruce did not initially provide details on the nature of the company's support for the rebels, but later referred to "a Chinese company providing satellite imagery to the Huthis."
UN chief 'gravely concerned' about US strikes on Yemen
United Nations, United States (AFP) April 19, 2025 -
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "gravely concerned" about air strikes conducted by the United States in Yemen, a spokesman said Saturday, after rebels there said the attacks killed some 80 people and wounded 150.
Guterres "is gravely concerned about the air strikes conducted by the United States over the course of 17 and 18 April in and around Yemen's port of Ras Issa, which reportedly resulted in scores of civilian casualties, including five humanitarian workers injured," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
The strikes on Ras Issa aimed to cut off supplies and funds for the Huthi rebels that control large swathes of the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country, the US military said.
It was the deadliest attack of Washington's 15-month campaign against the Iran-backed group.
Guterres expressed fears of damage to the port and "possible oil leaks into the Red Sea," Dujarric said.
He also called on the Huthis to halt their ongoing missile and drone attacks on both Israel and shipping in the Red Sea "immediately."
The US military has hammered the Huthis with near-daily air strikes for the past month in a bid to finally stamp out their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The Huthis say their attacks are in protest at Israel's blockade of aid to Gaza, where it is waging a bloody war on Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Dujarric said Guterres remained "deeply troubled" by the threat of further escalation in the region, and that he urged all sides to "exercise utmost restraint."
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