On March 15, 2025, nearly two months into his second term, US President Donald Trump launched Operation Rough Rider, a campaign of air strikes ostensibly targeting Houthi positions in Yemen, which has since killed nearly 300 people.

The United States military says its forces “have hit over 1,000 targets” in Yemen since mid-March, “killing Houthi fighters and leaders, including senior Houthi missile and UAV officials, and degrading their capabilities”, with no mention of civilian deaths.

On April 18, a US strike on Yemen’s Ras Isa fuel port killed at least 80 people and wounded 150 others in one of the deadliest attacks on the country by US forces.

Ten days later, on April 28, US forces struck a migrant detention centre in Saada, reportedly killing at least 68 people. The centre had been housing about 115 people, mainly from African nations, who had been detained trying to cross into Saudi Arabia to find livelihoods.

On Tuesday, the United Kingdom said its air force had joined the US military in bombing Houthi drone-manufacturing buildings near the capital, Sanaa.

According to US media, the six-week-long operation, which has not been approved by Congress, has so far cost well over $1bn.

The Houthis say they launched their attacks on Red Sea shipping linked to Israel in response to Israel’s war on Gaza and in solidarity with Palestinians.

During the ceasefire in Gaza, Houthi forces had paused their attacks but resumed them on March 12, following the expiration of a deadline they had set for Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

According to data from Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), 207 attacks on Yemen killed at least 209 people between March 15 and April 18.

That is an average of more than six people killed per day.

The US says it is targeting command and control centres, air defence systems, advanced weapons manufacturers and arms storage facilities.

The Houthis say the attacks have hit residential homes and civilian infrastructure, killing many children and women.

The attacks have hit densely populated areas, including homes, medical facilities, wedding halls, schools, power supply units and ports.

According to ACLED, most of the attacks have targeted Saada (59 attacks), followed by 37 attacks on the capital, Sanaa, home to some 3.5 million people, and the port city of Hodeidah (35 attacks).

About 80 percent of Yemen’s humanitarian aid goes through Hodeidah, making the port a vital lifeline for millions of people after a decade of war.

The animation below shows the US attacks on Yemen from March 15 to April 18.

Trump’s bombing campaign in Yemen continues Biden’s Operation Poseidon Archer, which began on January 12, 2024, with strikes coordinated with the UK and supported by six other allies: Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

The operation continued until January 19, 2025, when the Gaza ceasefire took effect.

Israel has also launched several air strikes in the region targeting Houthi positions.

According to ACLED, between January 12, 2024, and April 18, 2025, at least 430 combined attacks by the US, UK and Israel killed more than 285 people in Yemen.

The Red Sea is a vital waterway for global trade, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Aden through the Suez Canal. Approximately 12 percent of global shipping traffic normally passes through the Red Sea, including key oil shipments and commercial goods.

The Red Sea attacks began on November 19, 2023, when Houthi forces seized Galaxy Leader, a British-owned, Japanese-operated vehicle carrier, off the coast of Hodeidah. The 25-person crew was detained, and the ship was held for more than a year.

The Houthis justified the seizure as an act of solidarity with Palestinians, stating they would continue their actions until Israel’s war on Gaza came to an end.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks, including missile, drone and boat raids, targeting Israel-linked commercial vessels as well as US and UK military ships in the Red Sea. The attacks have resulted in two ships being sunk and one seized.

The map below shows some of the locations of these attacks.

Yemen’s devastation over the past decade

The war in Yemen has left the country in severe poverty.

The country has been divided between the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, who control the west, including Sanaa, and the internationally recognised Yemeni government, which controls the south and east, with Aden as its capital.

Since 2015, the civil war in Yemen, with the intervention of a Saudi-led coalition on the government's side, has devastated the country.

More than 4.5 million people have been displaced and 18.2 million need humanitarian aid. The risk of nationwide famine is at its highest, with nearly five million people facing acute food insecurity, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.

(Al Jazeera)