The United States condemns the Houthis’ January 2 seizure of a UAE-flagged merchant vessel off the coast of Hudaydah, Yemen…reports Asian Lite News
The US government has condemned the seizure of a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-flagged cargo vessel off the Yemeni port of Hudaydah as it threatens international trade and regional security, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.
“The United States condemns the Houthis’ January 2 seizure of a UAE-flagged merchant vessel off the coast of Hudaydah, Yemen. These actions interfere with freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and threaten international trade and regional security,” Price said in a press release on Tuesday.
Price called on the Houthis to immediately release the tanker and crew unharmed and stop all violence interfering with the political process seeking to end the war in the Republic.
The official spokesperson of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, Brigadier General Turki Al Malki, earlier said: “At (23:57) on Sunday (2nd January 2022), the Cargo Ship (RWABEE) sailing under the flag of the United Arab Emirates was targeted through ‘piracy and hijacking’ while sailing off the coast of Al Hudaydah Governorate.”
The ship was conducting a maritime mission from the Island of (Socotra) to (Jazan) Port. It was carrying medical field equipment, that were used to operate the Saudi Field Hospital in the Island. The Field Hospital has concluded its mission following the establishment of a hospital on the Island.
Al Malki added that the ship’s field hospital equipment cargo includes ambulances, medical equipment, communication devices, tents, a field kitchen, field laundry units and technical and security support equipment.
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“This act of Piracy by the terrorist Houthi militia is a credible threat that highlights the danger of the terrorist Houthi militia on the freedom of navigation and international trade in the South Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab Strait.
“The terrorist Houthi militia will bear full responsibility as a result of its criminal act of Piracy against the ship, which violates the customary International Humanitarian Law, the San Remo Manual on Armed Conflicts at Sea and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
“The militia must promptly release the ship, or the Coalition Forces will undertake all necessary measures and procedures to handle this violation, including the use of force if necessary,” the spokesperson concluded.
Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces, led by President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, and the Houthi rebels. Since March 2015, the Saudi-led Arab alliance, working in cooperation with Hadi’s forces, has been conducting air, land and sea operations against the Houthis. The conflict has created the arguably biggest humanitarian crisis in the world. (ANI/Sputnik)