A video of a young Yemeni man posing in front of a hijacked ship has been viewed by over 13 million people. The man’s appearance causes a storm in social media.
The video, which was first published on Instagram, shows the young man from a selfie perspective at the hijacked car cargo ship “Galaxy Leader” in the Gulf of Aden.
The young man’s appearance is now going viral. The man calls himself Rashid al-Haddad, and has published a number of videos of himself on TikTok.
Compares himself to an actor
In social media, many people have described the young man as handsome.
At the same time, he himself has compared his own appearance to the American actor Timothée Chalamet, reports the Swiss online newspaper 20 Minuten.
He is described on Twitter as “Jihadi Depp” and “Tim-Houthi Chalamet”.
yemeni pirates positing casual tiktok’s while the entire western imperial core are having a meltdown about their blockade on their ships is the funniest shit of 2024, surely. pic.twitter.com/72EvlHZeMs
— 🔻Mika ☭ (@comrademika) January 15, 2024
Others have protested the storm.
– Stop sexualizing the Houthis, writes an X user according to Motherboardthe technology publication of the American news outlet Vice.
Motherboard has been tracking the video since it originated.
According to Motherboard, al-Haddad posted different versions of the video on TikTok after it started taking off on Instagram.
Deleted
PIRATE: The young man hijacks both hearts and boats. Photo: Tiktok Show more
According to Motherboard, Al-Haddad has published photos and videos of himself wearing military equipment and weapons. The videos have now been deleted from TikTok, according to Motherboard.
It is unclear whether it is al-Haddad himself who has deleted them, or TikTok has taken down the videos. The Chinese tech giant did not respond to Motherboard’s inquiries.
However, an X account allegedly belonging to al-Haddad shared a link to a new Tiktok user on Thursday.
His role in the Yemeni Houthi militia is unclear, beyond the fact that he has posed with them in photographs.
He himself has linked his motivation for participating in the militia to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Attacks in Yemen: – Risky
The attack
A number of Western ships have recently been attacked in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen by the Houthis. The US and UK have attacked a number of Houthi targets in Yemen.
The Houthis have attacked Western ships, and claim they are doing this in solidarity with the Palestinians in the ongoing war in Gaza.
The Shia Muslim militia is a party to the civil war in Yemen, which is described by the UN as the greatest humanitarian disaster of our time. Over 24 million Yemenis, over 80 percent of the country’s population, are dependent on emergency aid and protection, according to the UN.
The country’s internationally recognized government is supported by a militia led by Saudi Arabia, which until 2022 was supported by the United States: the Houthis control large parts of the country, including the capital Sana’a.
2024-01-20 08:32:44
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