ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday US and British strikes on Yemen’s Houthis were “disproportionate”, alleging the US and Britain wanted to turn Red Sea into a “bloodbath”.

“First of all, they are not proportional. All of these constitute disproportionate use of force,” Erdogan told journalists after Friday prayers in Istanbul.

Aggression widens: US, Britain carry out strikes against Houthis in Yemen, officials say

“It is as if they aspire to turn the Red Sea into a bloodbath.”

The US and British strikes came in response to Houthi attacks on what they deemed to be Israeli-linked ships travelling in the Red Sea.

Erdogan said his government had received news from various channels that the Houthis were conducting “successful defence and gave successful answers both to the US and Britain”.