Riyadh — Houthi rebels in Yemen are posing a threat to shipping in the strategic Bab Al-Mandab strait, the Arab coalition supporting the government said Sunday after an attack on an Emirati vessel.
The coalition said Houthi militiamen had attacked the vessel “on its usual route to and from (the southern port city of) Aden to transfer relief and medical aid and evacuate wounded civilians.”
“Coalition air and naval forces targeted Houthi militia boats involved in the attack” near the Bab Al-Mandab, it said, while “coalition forces rescued civilian passengers following the attack” on Friday night.
“This incident demonstrates Houthi tactics of terrorist attacks against civilian international navigation in Bab Al-Mandab,” the coalition said in a statement.
The strait is a major shipping lane between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden leading into the Indian Ocean.
The United Arab Emirates military acknowledged “an incident” involving a chartered vessel under its command in Bab Al-Mandab as it was returning from a “routine” journey to Aden.
The UAE is a key member of the coalition that has been battling the Iran-backed Huthis and their allies since March last year in support of President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi’s internationally recognized government.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Deputy Prime Minister Abdulaziz Jabari, who also serves as minister of civil service, said that rebels in control of Sanaa are planning to implement a Persian project rather than a national one.
In a meeting with the governor of Maareb province Naif Al-Gaisi and a number of military officers, Jabari said that the Houthi militias have lost a lot of weapons and are suffering from continuous army losses, thanks to the national army and popular resistance.
During the meeting, they reviewed the future plans to activate Al-Baidah province front to pave the way for its liberation.
