CND condemns Britain’s recent participation in the first joint bombing of Yemen under the re-elected Tump administration, as both countries continue to take military action in support of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.
The attacks, which involved RAF Typhoon jets and Voyager tanker aircraft based out of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, are the first approved by Keir Starmer’s Labour government, and the first time Britain has joined US-led bombing of Yemen since the start of Donald Trump’s second administration.
RAF Akrotiti has acted as an important hub for British and US support for Israel’s genocide against Palestinians, including the facilitation of the flow of arms to Israel.
Defence Secretary John Healey defended the attacks because of the drop in Red Sea shipping had risked the “economic security for families in the UK.”
CND General Secretary Sophie Bolt said:
“CND condemns Britain’s military attacks on Yemen, which were carried out with the US – the first coordinated attacks on Yemen since Trump was elected.
Defence Secretary, John Healey is cynically justifying these brutal bombing raids on defending the economic security of families in Britain. But nothing could be further from the truth. This is all about Starmer’s government doing what Trump wants – which has nothing to do with British interests – economic or otherwise. We know that Trump has launched more than 800 attacks on Yemen since March, causing over 500 civilian casualties.
If the British government wants to see the resumption of normal shipping routes through the Red Sea, it should stop selling arms to Israel, stop the surveillance flights from RAF Akrotiri and end its complicity in Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinians.”
Image credit: SAC Chris Hill / MoD Flickr