Yemen: Booby-trapped boats attack ships in the Red Sea
Yemeni government forces have spotted Houthi booby-trapped boats, which they say the pro-Iranian group was preparing to use to attack commercial vessels in the southern Red Sea, amid warnings from Washington about the consequences of the continuing threat to shipping.
As a British maritime authority confirmed it had received reports from a vessel of a suspected new piracy attempt in the southern Red Sea, leaders of the Houthi group continued to threaten revenge against Washington in response to the killing of 10 of their members around nine days ago.
Houthi boats threaten merchant ships in the Red Sea (AFP)
On Sunday, US Central Command reported the destruction of a Houthi drone that was targeting its destroyer at sea, as Houthi strikes amounted to around 27 strikes against merchant ships since November 18.
As the pro-Iranian group launched what it called “the battle of promised conquest,” Yemeni government forces reported Monday that the Houthis had created two water channels from the sea coast to farms in southern Hodeidah, to be used for attack ships with booby-trapped boats.
Yemeni Hodeidah axis forces said in a statement distributed to journalists that reconnaissance units monitored the Houthis by placing boats believed to be booby-trapped in these two channels north of Mokha port in preparation for attacking the ships.
Yemeni military media released aerial photos showing Houthi mechanisms digging two canals, 210 meters long, 20 meters wide and 10 meters deep, stretching from the sea to the center of dense palm plantations, with a security barrier imposed across them .
The threatening rhetoric has increased
In the context of Houthi threats to continue attacks that the group claims are aimed at supporting Palestinians in Gaza and preventing ships heading to and from Israel, regardless of their nationality, leader Safar al-Sufi, director of the Il leader of the group, during his meeting with the families of the victims of an American attack in an attempt to pirate a ship, promised that the response to the Americans “will be painful”.
The Houthis took advantage of the Yemeni truce to reorganize their power with Iranian support, including restarting fighter jets (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 all the way 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 operations to support the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.”
While the group claims to have launched the “Battle of Promised Conquest,” the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority said Monday it had received a report of two small boats approaching a commercial vessel about 50 nautical miles southeast of the Yemeni port of Mokha. .
The authority added that no weapons were seen and that the ship and its crew were fine. Authorities are conducting an investigation into the incident and have advised ships to be cautious and report any suspicious activity.
The Houthi attacks have impacted international shipping costs and pushed major companies to avoid the Red Sea, with international concerns over delays in supply chains and high shipping costs, while shipping costs to Yemeni ports have increased threefold, which threatens to exacerbate food insecurity for millions of aid-dependent people, internationally and internationally.
An American commitment to deterrence
In light of the Houthis’ insistence on their position to continue launching naval attacks, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pledged in a statement on Monday to deter and protect shipping in the Red Sea, following a meeting in Doha with Qatar Prime Minister.
During his trip to the Middle East, the American secretary seeks to ensure that the conflict does not spread to the region against the backdrop of the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with United Arab Emirates 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 the creation of an independent Palestinian state. @MohamedBinZayedpic.twitter.com/c7bHwmao0x
Blinken highlighted growing international concerns about Houthi attacks on freedom of navigation in one of the world’s busiest trade routes, the Red Sea. He said: “These attacks directly affected civilians, property and commercial interests in more than forty countries.”
He added that the attacks “disrupted or rerouted about 20% of international shipping, and more than a dozen shipping companies were forced to reroute thousands of ships to circumnavigate the Cape of Good Hope, the which means it takes longer to deliver goods to their destination and increases costs, so those costs are passed on.” So to consumers around the world, whether we’re talking about food, fuel, medicines or humanitarian aid.”
Pro-Iranian Houthis have exploited the Gaza war to recruit more fighters (AFP)
The US Secretary of State stressed that 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 of commercial shipping through the Red Sea. It is also what caused more than a dozen countries made it clear that the Houthis will be held responsible for any future attacks.”
Blinken promised: “We will continue to uphold maritime security in the region as part of our global efforts to deter and avoid further regional conflict and ensure the free flow of trade, which is vital to people around the world.”
According to Houthi media, the most important meeting chaired by the leader Mahdi Al-Mashat, head of the government council of the coup group in Sanaa, with the senior military leaders of his group, vowed that the incident of the killing of members of the group in the Red Sea “will not pass without a strong response,” and said Americans “will pay an unprecedented price.” “And they will bear the consequences of their folly.” According to his expression.
Houthi group claims to support Palestinians in Gaza (AFP)
The Houthi leader has increased his demand that Washington hand over to trial the members who killed his group’s militants, otherwise he will have to “wait for the answer, which will inevitably come.” According to his statement.
The Houthis’ behavior, which destabilized international shipping, sparked international outrage and Washington formed a coalition called the “Guardian of Prosperity” to protect the ships, among other international warnings against resorting to more assertive options to stop the threat of the forces armies supported by Iran. group.
Yemen’s 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 the natural result of the international community abandoning its responsibilities in strengthening the defense capabilities of the Yemeni government.
