Yemen’s Houthi militia have called for all ships planning to transit the Red Sea to notify them in advance of their destinations and declare that they have no connections to Israel to avoid being attacked.
Houthi leader Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi made the call on Sunday to defuse what he described as the “militarisation” of the Red Sea or igniting a war between its militia and US-led maritime forces by demanding that all vessels supply them with the requested information.
Al-Houthi said in a post on social media that: “Every ship that goes through the Red Sea, Bab El-Mandeb (the strait that connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden), or the Arabian Sea should broadcast the words, ‘we have no relationship with Israel’.
“This is a simple and low-cost solution that will incur no financial expenditures for any business. This measure does not need the militarisation of the Red Sea and will not jeopardise international navigation.”
The Houthis seized the commercial vessel Galaxy Leader and have launched more than 20 missile and drone attacks on commercial and navy ships in the Red Sea since November 19. The attacks are part of the militia’s ban on all Israel-bound ships from using the channel, in a bid to force the country to stop bombing Gaza.
The US Central Command reported on Saturday that the USS Laboon (DDG 59) naval destroyer had shot down a drone launched by the Houthis near commercial ships in Red Sea international waters. Houthi leaders reiterated their threats to attack US Navy ships in the Red Sea as punishment for the deaths of 10 of its members last week.
Houthi political council head Mahdi Al-Mashat said on Saturday that the militia would only back down from its retaliatory attack on US Navy ships if America handed over the marines who had fired at its fighters in the Red Sea on December 31.
Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, met with UN Yemen envoy Hans Grundberg in Riyadh on Sunday to discuss ongoing UN-led attempts to restart the peace process in Yemen, according to the country’ official news agency. Source: Arabnews
