The spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition forces, Turki Al-Maliki, said that the recent operation by the Houthi militia is a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and the laws related to the sea” and accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guard of being behind the targeting of ships.
وخال Press Conference Held in Riyadh, on Saturday, Al-Maliki revealed evidence that the Houthis used the port of Hodeidah and Saleef militarily.
#alliancespeaker: The Houthi militia’s hacking of the ship, which was carrying medical equipment to help the people of Socotra Island, is a clear violation of international law.#was_am pic.twitter.com/FQ6mR7s6mF
– SPAregions (@SPAregions) January 8, 2022
And last Sunday, Yemeni rebels confiscated a ship flying the UAE flag in the southern Red Sea opposite the Yemeni city of Hodeidah, which the Saudi-led coalition said was carrying medical equipment, while the rebels confirmed that it was carrying “military equipment”.
On Monday evening, the Houthi rebels broadcast on their Al-Masirah channel video clips that they said were from aboard the confiscated ship.
The ship “Rawabi” can be seen, and in another clip, military vehicles and pieces of machine guns and ammunition.
In response, al-Maliki said, on Saturday, that the ship was transporting medical equipment to the mobile military field hospital in Socotra Governorate.
He revealed that the coalition forces present in Socotra “are primarily carrying out humanitarian work.”
Then he continued, “The Houthi militia violated international laws, as the piracy operation took place in international waters.”
In the course of his speech, Al-Maliki reviewed the names of the group involved in the piracy operation of the commercial cargo ship “Rawabi”.
He said, “Mansour al-Saadi is the one who runs the Houthi piracy.”
Mansour al-Saadi is the chief of staff of the naval forces of the Houthi group, according to the US administration.
Al-Saadi was among the Houthi leaders. The US Treasury issued once morest them, in March of 2021, sanctions for their role in the attacks that targeted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the time.
#alliancespeaker It shows the names of the group involved in the hacking of the commercial cargo ship “Rawabi”.#was_am pic.twitter.com/o1YLdIiMhy
– SPAregions (@SPAregions) January 8, 2022
Al-Maliki also accused Iran of being behind the targeting of ships belonging to the Kingdom and the coalition, and said that “all the attacks on the ships were planned.” Iran’s Revolutionary GuardsAnd that test centers for booby-trapped boats used to target ships and tankers are located near civilian sites, such as fish markets, “which indicates the use of civilians as human shields, a tactic characterized by Iran and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.”
#alliancespeaker: All attacks on ships are planned by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.#was_am pic.twitter.com/EVPKnVlIPu
– SPAregions (@SPAregions) January 8, 2022
Al-Maliki revealed the defense system used by Al-Houthi, which he described as “a mirror image of Iranian missiles.”
He said, “The Houthis mentioned in 2017 that they had developed a new coastal defense system, which they called Bab al-Mandab, and the fact is that it is a model that is 100 percent similar to the Iranian Noor missiles.”
#alliancespeakerThe Houthis mentioned in 2017 that they had developed a new coastal defense system that they called Bab al-Mandab, and the fact is that it is a 100% similar model to the Iranian “Noor” missiles.#was_am pic.twitter.com/RB9VVtg1T8
– SPAregions (@SPAregions) January 8, 2022
In addition, Al-Maliki said that what concerns the coalition and the Kingdom in military relations “is to stand with the Yemeni people and to reach a comprehensive political solution, and we have tactical and strategic patience to deal with terrorist attacks.”
then browse pictures What he described as workshops confirming, according to the Saudi Press Agency, “Houthi’s militarization of Yemeni ports.”
#alliance He once more reveals videos from inside the Houthi pyramid, exposing the militia’s militarization of Yemeni ports.#was_am pic.twitter.com/BzFGB8iMIq
– SPAregions (@SPAregions) January 8, 2022
Resources #alliance It reveals the nature of the workshops located in the ports of Saleef and Hodeidah. #was_am pic.twitter.com/NeIOgEen4R
– SPAregions (@SPAregions) January 8, 2022
For his part, the Director of the Civil Military Operations Department in the coalition, Major General Abdullah Al-Habbabi, said that his forces had detected regarding 13 violations on commercial ships, “which constitutes a serious threat to global trade,” according to what was reported by the Saudi Press Agency.
In the same context, he revealed that his forces dealt with regarding 248 naval mines to secure navigation in the southern Red Sea.
Then he explained that “the Houthi militia’s planning to hijack the ship has been proven in advance.”
After that, he reviewed the operations of the Houthi militia targeting some commercial ships, especially the oil tanker “Abakeeq” in the Red Sea, and the hijacking of the locomotive “Rabigh 3” from Hodeidah.
#Mubasher_Was | Press conference of the official spokesman for the coalition forces “Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen”.#was_am https://t.co/UGdPwfIgnP
– SPAregions (@SPAregions) January 8, 2022
Since mid-2014, Yemen has been witnessing a power struggle between the rebels and government forces backed by the Saudi-led military coalition since March 2015.
The coalition carries out intense aerial bombardment in several Yemeni regions, while several regions in Saudi Arabia are regularly attacked with ballistic missiles and booby-trapped drones launched from Yemen towards their airports and oil facilities.
The Houthis have repeatedly been accused of using booby-trapped boats to attack Saudi ships, ports and oil installations on the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia accuses its arch-rival Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah of supplying the Houthis with quality weapons, which Tehran denies.
The war has caused the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations, with millions of people at risk of starvation in a country where 80 percent of the population, numbering regarding 30 million, depends on aid.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict.
