Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea | Canada will participate in an international mission

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Tuesday morning the creation of an international coalition to stop Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Canada will be part of this coalition, but its presence will be limited for the moment to three staff officers.

This was announced in a press release by the Minister of National Defense, Bill Blair, early Tuesday afternoon.

Monday evening, in response to a request from Global News, a spokesperson for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) indicated that Canada would deploy “a handful of personnel” to this region of the Middle East “in the coming days”. “We will indicate if this contribution evolves,” added this manager.

The three officers sent to the Middle East are in addition to Canadian representatives already there as part of a broader mission, called ARTEMIS and dedicated to maintaining peace and security in the waters of the Middle East.

“In my opinion, the reason they were asked to be there is because they add value to the mission staff,” said Thomas Hughes, postdoctoral fellow in the McKenna School at Mount Allison University. (New Brunswick). “It is my understanding that two of the three members of the CAF will do operational planning, a complex task when several countries are involved. And the third person would do intelligence analysis. This person may have vital expertise in this environment. »

“An international challenge that requires collective action”

The announcement made Tuesday by Lloyd Austin is a direct response to attacks committed in recent weeks on commercial ships using the Red Sea and part of the Gulf of Aden. Several ships have been hit by missiles and drones launched from Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen.

Several of these attacks took place in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Many carriers have stopped using this waterway in recent days. However, a sixth of trade flows through the sector, it is estimated.

“This is an international challenge that requires collective action,” Secretary Austin said in a statement issued from Bahrain, a small Middle Eastern state overlooking the Persian Gulf.

The Houthi rebels, who control much of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, are a Shiite Muslim group forming a significant minority in the country. They are in conflict with the Yemeni government, supported by the West and Saudi Arabia. In the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Houthis have increased attacks on commercial ships as a sign of solidarity with the Islamist movement which controls the Gaza Strip.

“Threats from Houthi rebels are not new in the sector, but they have seriously increased recently,” observes Thomas Hughes.

In addition to the United States and Canada, the operation, named Prosperity Guardian, brings together military forces from the United Kingdom, Bahrain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and from Spain. The countries involved are part of an even larger coalition of 39 member countries called the Multinational Maritime Forces. Its headquarters is in Bahrain.

“Some of these countries will conduct joint patrols while others will provide intelligence support in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” an Associated Press report said of the planned actions. of Operation Prosperity Guardian.

In the past, Canada has often participated in international patrol and surveillance missions at sea, whether in the Persian Gulf, the Pacific Ocean, the China Sea, etc.

With Global News, CBS News, Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse