Yemen: Houthi booby-trapped boats attack ships in the Red Sea
Yemeni government forces detected Houthi booby-trapped boats, which they said the pro-Iranian group was preparing to use to attack commercial ships in the southern Red Sea, amid Washington’s warnings of the consequences of continuing to threaten navigation.
While a British maritime authority confirmed that it had received reports from a ship about a suspected new piracy attempt in the southern Red Sea, the leaders of the Houthi group continued their threats of revenge against Washington in response to the killing of 10 of their members about nine days ago.
Houthi boats threaten cargo ships in the Red Sea (AFP)
On Sunday, the US Central Command reported the destruction of a Houthi drone that was targeting a destroyer belonging to it at sea, as Houthi attacks amounted to about 27 attacks against cargo ships since last November 18.
With the pro-Iranian group launching what it called “the Battle of the Promised Conquest,” the Yemeni government forces reported on Monday that the Houthis had created two water canals from the sea coast to deep into the farms in southern Hodeidah, to be used to attack ships with booby-trapped boats.
The Yemeni forces in the Hodeidah axis said in a statement distributed to journalists that reconnaissance units monitored the Houthis inserting boats believed to be booby-trapped into these two channels in the north of the port of Mokha in preparation for attacking the ships.
The Yemeni military media distributed aerial photos that showed Houthi mechanisms digging two canals, 210 meters long, 20 meters wide, and 10 meters deep, extending from the sea to the middle of dense palm plantations, with a security fence imposed on them.
Threatening rhetoric escalated
In the context of the Houthi threats to continue the attacks that the group claims come to support the Palestinians in Gaza and to prevent ships heading to and from Israel, regardless of their nationality, the leader Safar al-Sufi, director of the group’s leader’s office, vowed during his meeting with the families of the dead who died in an American strike when they attempted to pirate a ship. He said that the response to the Americans “will be painful.”
The Houthis took advantage of the Yemeni truce to rearrange their power with Iranian support, including restarting fighter planes (AFP)
For his part, the group’s spokesman, Muhammad Abdel Salam Fleita, said in a post on the “X” platform that “the insistence of the ruling elite in Washington to go far in supporting Israel against Gaza would blow up the region.”
He added, “America must bear the consequences of this arrogance, and realize that its militarization of the Red Sea will not prevent Yemen from continuing its support operations for the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.”
As the group claims to have launched the “Battle of the Promised Conquest,” the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority said on Monday that it had received a report of two small boats approaching a commercial ship about 50 nautical miles southeast of the Yemeni port of Mokha.
The authority added that no weapons were seen, and the ship and its crew were reported to be fine. The authorities are conducting an investigation into the incident, and the authority advised ships to be cautious and to report any suspicious activity.
The Houthi attacks had their consequences on international shipping costs and prompted major companies to avoid the Red Sea, with international concerns about delayed supply chains and high shipping costs, while shipping costs to Yemeni ports increased three-fold, which threatens to exacerbate the lack of food security for millions of people dependent on aid. International and international.
An American pledge of deterrence
In light of the Houthis’ insistence on their position on continuing to launch naval attacks, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pledged in a statement, Monday, to deter and protect navigation in the Red Sea, following a meeting he held in Doha with the Qatari Prime Minister.
During his tour in the Middle East, the American Secretary seeks to ensure that the conflict does not expand in the region against the backdrop of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today in Abu Dhabi to discuss joint efforts to prevent the escalation of conflict in the region and address humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip. Minister Blinken affirmed his country’s continued commitment to establishing an independent Palestinian state. @MohamedBinZayed pic.twitter.com/c7bHwmao0x
– US State Department (@USAbilAraby) January 8, 2024
Blinken pointed to mounting international concerns about Houthi attacks on freedom of navigation in one of the world’s busiest trade lanes, the Red Sea. He said: “These attacks have directly affected civilians, goods and commercial interests of more than forty countries.”
He added that the attacks “disrupted or changed the course of about 20 percent of international shipping, and more than a dozen shipping companies were forced to change the course of thousands of ships to circle the Cape of Good Hope, which means that it takes longer to deliver goods to their destination and increases costs, so that these costs are passed on.” Then to consumers around the world, whether we are talking about food, fuel, medicines, or humanitarian aid.”
The pro-Iranian Houthis exploited the Gaza war to recruit more fighters (AFP)
The US Secretary of State stressed that the Houthi attacks harm people around the world, especially the poorest and most vulnerable groups, including in Yemen and Gaza.
He explained that this is “what prompted the United States to launch Operation Prosperity Guardian with more than twenty countries to defend the safety and security of commercial shipping through the Red Sea. It is also what made more than a dozen countries make clear that the Houthis will be held accountable for any future attacks.”
Blinken pledged: “We will continue to defend maritime security in the region as part of our comprehensive efforts to deter and avoid further regional conflicts and ensure the free flow of trade, which is vital for people around the world.”
The Houthi media was the most prominent meeting chaired by the leader Mahdi Al-Mashat, head of the group’s coup ruling council in Sanaa, with his group’s senior military leaders, where he vowed that the incident of the killing of the group’s members in the Red Sea “will not pass without a strong response,” and said that the Americans “will pay an unprecedented price.” “And they will bear the consequences for their foolishness.” According to his expression.
The Houthi group claims to support the Palestinians in Gaza (AFP)
The Houthi leader added to his demand that Washington hand over its members who killed his group’s militants for trial. Otherwise, it must “wait for the response, which will inevitably come.” According to his claim.
The Houthis’ behavior, which destabilized international navigation, sparked international outrage, and Washington formed a coalition it called the “Guardian of Prosperity” to protect ships, amid other international warnings against resorting to more assertive options to stop the threat of the Iranian-backed group.
The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council warned the Houthis of the consequences of bringing the country into a new conflict and doubling the suffering of the population. He recalled that “Houthi terrorism” is a natural result of the international community abandoning its responsibilities in strengthening the defense capabilities of the Yemeni government.
2024-01-09 15:13:28
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