US and UK prepare to launch strikes against Houthis in Yemen
-Experts believe western allies most likely to target coastal sites in attempt to halt spate of Houthi attacks in Red Sea

美國和英國準(zhǔn)備對也門胡塞武裝發(fā)動襲擊
——專家認(rèn)為，西方盟友最有可能聚焦沿海地區(qū)，試圖阻止胡塞在紅海的一連串襲擊


(A Houthi military helicopter flies over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in November 2023.)

（2023年11月，一架胡塞武裝直升機(jī)飛過紅海的銀河領(lǐng)袖號貨船。）
新聞：

Britain and the US are poised to launch strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen, as the leader of the rebel group promises to respond to any assault with fresh attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

英國和美國準(zhǔn)備對也門胡塞武裝的軍事目標(biāo)發(fā)動襲擊，該反叛組織的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人承諾，將通過對紅海的船只發(fā)動新襲擊的方式對任何襲擊做出回應(yīng)，。
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Western defence sources indicated preparations were intensifying on Thursday in response to a Houthi attack of 21 missiles and drones aimed at US and UK warships on Tuesday night, although its scale and timing remain secret.

西方國防消息人士表示，為回應(yīng)胡塞武裝周二晚間向美國和英國軍艦發(fā)射的21枚導(dǎo)彈和無人機(jī)，周四襲擊準(zhǔn)備工作正在加強(qiáng)，不過襲擊的規(guī)模和時間仍然保密。

Asked about potential US strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, the national security spokesperson, John Kirby, said: “I’m not going to telegraph our punches one way or another here. We’re gonna do what we have to do, to counter and defeat these threats that the Houthis keep throwing up on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.”

當(dāng)被問及美國對也門胡塞武裝的潛在打擊時，美國國家安全發(fā)言人約翰·柯比表示：“我不會在這里以這樣或那樣的方式公開我們的打擊。我們將做我們必須做的事情，反擊并擊敗胡塞武裝不斷對紅海商業(yè)航運(yùn)的威脅?！?/b>

On Wednesday, Antony blxen, the US secretary of state, said “there will be consequences” following the Houthi attack – while the British defence secretary, Grant Shapps, told journalists to “watch this space”.

周三，美國國務(wù)卿安東尼·布林肯表示，胡塞武裝發(fā)動襲擊后“將會有后果”，而英國國防大臣格蘭特·沙普斯則告訴記者“要注意這個領(lǐng)域”。
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In response, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Iran-backed group, which controls the north and west of Yemen, said on Thursday that if struck the Houthis would fight back, suggesting any conflict in the Red Sea would be extended.

伊朗支持的胡塞武裝控制著也門北部和西部，其領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人阿卜杜勒-馬利克胡塞周四回應(yīng)稱，如果遭到襲擊，胡塞武裝將進(jìn)行反擊，暗示紅海的任何沖突都將延長。

“Any American attack will not remain without a response. The response will be greater than the attack that was carried out with 20 drones and a number of missiles,” al-Houthi said in a televised address. “We are more determined to target ships lixed to Israel, and we will not back down from that,” he added.

胡塞武裝在電視講話中說：“美國的任何攻擊都不會沒有回應(yīng)。我們的反應(yīng)將比用20架無人機(jī)和一些導(dǎo)彈發(fā)動的襲擊更強(qiáng)大。我們更有決心打擊與以色列有關(guān)的船只，我們不會放棄這一點(diǎn)?！?/b>

Rishi Sunak’s cabinet was meeting virtually on Thursday evening amid expectations of UK involvement in imminent military strikes. It is understood that the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, will be briefed after the call.

蘇納克的內(nèi)閣在周四晚間召開了實(shí)質(zhì)上的會議，預(yù)計(jì)英國將參與即將到來的軍事打擊。據(jù)悉，工黨領(lǐng)袖凱爾·斯塔默將在通話后聽取簡報。

Experts believe the US, UK and other western allies are most likely to target coastal radar and launch sites in a calibrated attempt to halt the three-month spate of Houthi missile and drone attacks in the busy Middle Eastern waterway.

專家們認(rèn)為，美國、英國和其他西方盟國最有可能聚焦沿海雷達(dá)和發(fā)射陣地，以中止胡塞武裝三個月來在繁忙的中東航道上接連不斷的導(dǎo)彈和無人機(jī)襲擊。

But one added any intervention was fraught with risk. Sidharth Kaushal, an expert from the Royal United Services Institute thinktank, said: “It depends what targets are chosen, but the Houthis have said they are not backing down, so there is the risk of sleepwalking into a protracted conflict”.

但其中一人補(bǔ)充說，任何干預(yù)都充滿了風(fēng)險?；始衣?lián)合軍種研究所智囊團(tuán)的專家希德哈斯·考沙爾說：“這取決于選擇的目標(biāo)，但胡塞武裝表示他們不會退縮，所以有稀里糊涂地演變成長期沖突的風(fēng)險?！?/b>

Any strikes – likely to be from air and sea – would have to be enough to act as a deterrent, the analyst added, but a wider bombing campaign added to the risk of civilian casualties and could inflame public opinion in an already volatile Middle East.

這位分析人士補(bǔ)充說，任何打擊——可能來自空中和海上——都必須足以起到威懾作用，但更廣泛的轟炸行動增加了平民傷亡的風(fēng)險，并可能在本已動蕩不安的中東地區(qū)激起公眾輿論。

Aid agencies said they were concerned about the impact of fresh bombing on the Yemeni population, in a country trying to negotiate an end to a nine-year civil war, but one told the Guardian that the Houthi attacks were very popular within Yemen, interpreted as a form of resistance to Israel and the west.

援助機(jī)構(gòu)表示，他們擔(dān)心新的轟炸對也門人民的影響，也門正試圖通過談判結(jié)束長達(dá)九年的內(nèi)戰(zhàn)，但其中一家機(jī)構(gòu)告訴《衛(wèi)報》，胡塞武裝的襲擊在也門非常受歡迎，被解讀為對以色列和西方的一種抵抗。

The crisis in the southern Red Sea comes at a time of wider conflict in the Middle East. Israel’s bombing campaign against Hamas in Gaza is in its fourth month, while tensions are worsening in the north of the country, where Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon have been engaged in increasingly aggressive tit for tat attacks.

南紅海危機(jī)發(fā)生之際，中東地區(qū)的沖突正在擴(kuò)大。以色列在加沙對哈馬斯的轟炸行動已進(jìn)入第四個月，與此同時，以色列軍隊(duì)和伊朗支持的黎巴嫩真主黨在該國北部展開了日益激烈的以牙還牙的襲擊，緊張局勢正在惡化。

But a group of western nations, led by the US, increasingly believe that, despite the delicate international situation, there has to be a military response to the Houthis. The group has been gradually stepping up a series of attacks in the southern Red Sea area since mid October in support of Hamas.

但以美國為首的一些西方國家越來越相信，盡管國際形勢微妙，但必須對胡塞武裝做出軍事回應(yīng)。自10月中旬以來，該組織一直在紅海南部地區(qū)逐步加強(qiáng)一系列襲擊，以支持哈馬斯。

Using weapons designed in Iran, the Houthis started by targeting merchant shipping, travelling a busy waterway through which an estimated 15% of world seaborne trade flows, and by December prompted major shipping groups such as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to route traffic around the Cape of Good Hope, adding at least seven days of travel time and cost.

胡塞武裝使用伊朗設(shè)計(jì)的武器，一開始以商船為目標(biāo)，這些商船在繁忙的水路上航行，據(jù)估計(jì)，全世界15%的海上貿(mào)易都要經(jīng)過這條水路，到去年12月，馬士基和赫伯羅特等主要航運(yùn)集團(tuán)不得不繞過好望角，至少增加了7天的航行時間和成本。

Tuesday night’s attack was deemed to represent an escalation because it directly targeted a group of US and UK warships sent to the Red Sea as protection. Royal Navy sources said HMS Diamond, a destroyer, was among those directly targeted and it was forced to use Sea Viper/Aster missiles and machine guns to defend itself.

周二晚上的襲擊被視為事態(tài)升級，因?yàn)樗苯俞槍α伺赏t海保護(hù)的美英軍艦群。英國皇家海軍消息人士稱，鉆石號驅(qū)逐艦是直接目標(biāo)之一，它被迫使用海毒蛇/Aster導(dǎo)彈和機(jī)槍進(jìn)行自衛(wèi)。
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The US had formed an international naval coalition, Operation Prosperity Guardian, aimed at protecting the waterway, with Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, New Zealand and the UK. The French navy is also operating in the area but is not part of the group.

美國與澳大利亞、巴林、比利時、加拿大、丹麥、德國、意大利、日本、荷蘭、新加坡、新西蘭和英國組成了一個國際海軍聯(lián)盟，名為“繁榮衛(wèi)士行動”，旨在保護(hù)這條航道。法國海軍也在該地區(qū)行動，但不是該編隊(duì)的一部分。

It is led by the US aircraft carrier Dwight D Eisenhower, which has F/A-18 aircraft that could be used to strike targets in Yemen, plus three destroyers, with HMS Diamond acting alongside to protect against aerial targets.

領(lǐng)頭的是美國“艾森豪威爾”號航空母艦，該航母擁有可用于打擊也門目標(biāo)的F/A-18飛機(jī)，另外還有三艘驅(qū)逐艦，“鉆石”號驅(qū)逐艦與之并肩作戰(zhàn)，以防范空中目標(biāo)。

Separately, on Thursday Iran seized an US-lixed oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman as part of a long-running dispute with the US. News agencies in Iran said it had been seized in response to a court order, and was unrelated to the Houthi attacks, but it added to growing tensions about the safety of commercial shipping in the region.

另外，周四，伊朗在阿曼灣扣押了一艘與美國有關(guān)聯(lián)的油輪，這是伊朗與美國長期爭端的一部分。伊朗的新聞機(jī)構(gòu)表示，這艘船是根據(jù)法院命令被扣押的，與胡塞武裝的襲擊無關(guān)，但它加劇了該地區(qū)商業(yè)航運(yùn)安全日益緊張的局勢。

On Wednesday night the UN security council called for an immediate end to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea, adopting a resolution that was passed with abstentions from Russia and China.

周三晚間，聯(lián)合國安理會通過了一項(xiàng)決議，呼吁立即停止也門胡塞反政府武裝襲擊紅海船只的行動。俄羅斯和中國投了棄權(quán)票。

A key provision of Wednesday’s security council resolution, which was sponsored by the US and Japan, noted the right of UN member states, in accordance with international law, “to defend their vessels from attack, including those that undermine navigational rights and freedoms”.

周三由美國和日本發(fā)起的安理會決議的一項(xiàng)關(guān)鍵條款指出，根據(jù)國際法，聯(lián)合國成員國有權(quán)“保護(hù)其船只不受攻擊，包括那些破壞航行權(quán)利和自由的攻擊”。

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