Houthi rebels seize a ship outside Yemen that Saudi Arabia says had medical supplies with it
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have seized an Emirati-flagged ship in the Red Sea, stated the rebels and a Saudi-led coalition on Monday and provided contrasting explanations for the recent escalation of a seven-year war.
The coalition, which is fighting in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, said the ship was carrying medical supplies but rebels said it had seized “a military cargo ship with military equipment”.
“The boat named Rawabi, which carries the flag of the United Arab Emirates, was pirated and kidnapped at 11:57 PM (2057 GMT) on Sunday outside Hodeidah province,” said coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki.
In a statement quoted by the official Saudi press agency, he said that the ship left Yemen’s island Socotra off the south coast of the country.
It was on its way back to the Saudi city of Jizan with medical supplies after completing a mission to establish a field hospital on the island, Malki said.
The Houthis confirmed that they had seized an Emirati-flagged ship in the Red Sea, but their military spokesman Yahya Saree said it had “entered Yemeni waters without permission” and carried out “hostile acts”.
The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting for almost seven years to support the Yemeni government against the Iranian-backed Houthis, and fighting has intensified in recent weeks.
Riyadh and its allies have accused the Houthis of attacking shipping in the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes leading to the Suez Canal.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said late on Sunday that they had received reports of an attack on a ship near the Yemeni port of Ras Isa, just north of Hodeidah, and an investigation is underway. It was not immediately clear if it was the same attack.
The last attack near Ras Isa took place at the end of 2019 when the Houthis briefly seized a Saudi-flagged ship and two South Korean ships.
( Jowharwith AFP, REUTERS)
