Speaker of the US House of Representatives John Boehner has defended the deployment of American warships near Yemen due to the situation in the country.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Boehner said the United States should assist its allies in the region.
�I think having our ships in place is the right thing to do. Hopefully, their involvement will not be needed,� he said.
On Tuesday, the US military deployed the USS Theodore Roosevelt off the coast of Yemen to join three other American amphibious ships and two destroyers.
The Navy said in a statement the Roosevelt had left the Persian Gulf on Sunday along with guided missile destroyer USS Normandy.
�In recent days, the US Navy has increased its presence in this area as a result of the current instability in Yemen,� the statement read.
On March 26, Saudi Arabia started its military aggression against Yemen without a UN mandate in a bid to restore power to the fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a close ally of Riyadh.
On April 21, Saudi government spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri announced the termination of the first phase of the attacks against Yemen.
He added that Saudi Arabia would launch a second phase of its aggression, targeting the Houthi Ansarullah movement�s fighters in Yemen.
The International Committee of the Red Cross warned of the disastrous humanitarian situation in Yemen.
�The humanitarian situation is nothing short of catastrophic,� Robert Mardini, the ICRC�s head of operations for the Middle East, said in Geneva on Wednesday.
Yemen�s Health Ministry announced that 951 people were killed and 3,943 others were wounded in the nearly month-long military aggression.