Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on January 27, 2022
🔫 Arms from UAE likely bound for Ethiopia & Eritrea
The Houthi armed forces seized a UAE-owned vessel allegedly ‘carrying military equipment’ off Hodeidah, spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced in a televised address on Monday.
During the address, Saree presented footage of the vessel ‘Rwabee,’ showing vehicles and military equipment, as well as weapons and ammunition on board.
“The Yemeni naval forces succeeded in carrying out a special military operation targeting a vessel in the Yemeni territorial waters in the Red Sea, specifically off the Hodeidah Governorate, while it was carrying out hostile activities,” said Saree.
“This hostile vessel carries military equipment, including machinery and devices, and other equipment that is used in the aggression against the Yemeni people,” he went on to say.
He also pointed out that the naval forces “were watching this vessel as it was transporting large and different quantities of weapons,” adding that its seizure falls “within the framework of the legitimate defence of our country and our people.”
Saree concluded by emphasising that the armed Houthi forces “will not hesitate to carry out special operations and will face escalation with escalation.”
The Saudi coalition accused the Houthis of ‘piracy,’ announcing that the movement ‘hijacked the vessel ‘Rwabee’ off the port of Hodeidah,’ noting that it ‘was flying the UAE flag’ and ‘was carrying equipment which was used in the Saudi field hospital on the island of Socotra.’
The coalition called on the Houthis to release the ship ‘immediately,’ threatening that it would take ‘all necessary measures and procedures to deal with this violation, including the use of force.’
The Saudi-led coalition, with the participation of the UAE, began its military operations in Yemen in 2015 under the slogan of supporting government forces against the Ansar Allah Houthi movement after its forces seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2015, which subsequently resulted in the outbreak of a war that caused the worst humanitarian disaster in the world, according to the United Nations.
A ship hijacked by Yemeni militias in the Red Sea has 11 crew on board from five countries, the United Arab Emirates told the United Nations Security Council president on Monday.
Seven of the crew are Indian and the others come from Ethiopia, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines, the UAE’s permanent representative said in a letter.
It denounced the “act of piracy” against the UAE-flagged Rwabee, which the Houthi militias seized on January 2.
The Iran-backed militias say they seized the Rwabee in Yemeni waters and have released a video which they say shows military equipment on board.
“This act of piracy is contrary to fundamental provisions of international law,” said the letter, signed by UAE ambassador Lana Nusseibeh and dated January 9.
“It also poses a serious threat to the freedom and safety of navigation as well as international trade in the Red Sea and to regional security and stability.”
Nusseibeh described the Rwabee as a “civilian cargo vessel” that was leased by a Saudi company and was carrying equipment used at a field hospital. It was travelling on an international route, she added.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen to support the internationally-recognised government in March 2015 after the Houthis captured the capital, Sana’a, the previous September.
The UN estimated that the war would have killed an estimated 377,000 people directly or indirectly by the end of 2021, and calls it the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe.
Ethiopia FM condemns Houthi terrorist attack, affirms solidarity with UAE in phone call with H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the strike
Three people were killed and six wounded in an apparent drone attack on Abu Dhabi on Monday, UAE police have said. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have announced a strike “deep” in Emirati territory.
Three fuel trucks exploded in the industrial Mussafah area near storage facilities used by oil firm ADNOC, after which a “minor fire” broke out at a construction site at Abu Dhabi International Airport, the Emirati WAM news agency reported, citing police.
Preliminary investigation suggests that the blast and the fire were caused by a drone attack.
Police said that “no significant” damage was done to the area, later adding that two Indian nationals and a Pakistani national were killed, while six people were wounded.
Yemeni media reported that the Houthis had announced a military operation “deep in the UAE” and promised to reveal more details later on Monday.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree previously said that the rebels were confronting “a wide advance of the UAE mercenaries” and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) fighters.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemeni civil war in 2015 on behalf of ousted President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. The collation carried out bombing raids into the Houthi-controlled areas, while the rebels responded by firing rockets and sending armed drones into Saudi territory.
In 2019, a drone attack claimed by Houthis caused massive fires at several Saudi oil refineries operated by state-owned company Saudi Aramco.