Yemen says it asked Trump for U.S. military support in fight against Houthis

The government of Yemen is seeking U.S. military support in its fight against the Houthis, a senior Yemeni official said Wednesday, as the Iranian-backed rebels rapidly expand their control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and threaten another critical Middle East waterway for global energy supplies.

Yemen’s president, Rashad al-Alimi, conveyed the request for U.S. assistance to President Donald Trump in a call this week, Abdullah Al-Alimi Bawazir, vice president of the Yemeni Leadership Council, told reporters on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

Asked about a report this week by Reuters, which cited one Yemeni and one Western source as saying Trump made no direct pledge of military support during the call, Bawazir said he was unaware that the request had been rejected.

He said that Trump understands the danger of the Houthis and that “we hope and expect more support for the Yemeni government in the face of the Houthi militias.”

The White House did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment overnight.

Houthis claim attack on Saudi capital

Bawazir did not say whether U.S. support should extend to direct military strikes.

“We do not ask the American soldiers to actually go into war on our…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business