Houthis knock out UAE ship putting into Aden to supply Saudi-led coalition
THE Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthis forces, who hold the Yemeni capital Sanaa, now say Houthis threaten shipping in the Gulf of Aden now they "completely destroyed" an Emirati supply ship, reports London's Middle East Eye.
Arms shipments may be eye-catching, but of less useful than food and medicine. In war, days or weeks can pass with little ammunition expended, but food and medicine are consumed and depleted rapidly.
The Saudis, supporting the exiled government, say Houthi forces had attacked the vessel "on its usual route to and from [the southern port city of Aden to transfer relief and medical aid and evacuate wounded civilians".
"Coalition air and naval forces targeted Houthi militia boats involved in the attack" near the Bab al-Mandab, it said, while "coalition forces rescued civilian passengers following the attack".
"This incident demonstrates Houthi tactics of terrorist attacks against civilian international navigation in the Bab al-Mandab," the coalition said in a statement.
The strait is a major shipping lane between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden leading into the Indian Ocean.
Houthi forces, in a statement posted on their sabanews.net website, claimed the attack, which it said targeted and "completely destroyed" an Emirati warship with rockets as it neared Mokha on the Red Sea coast.
The United Arab Emirates military acknowledged "an incident" involving a chartered vessel under its command in the Bab al-Mandab as it was returning from a "routine" journey to Aden, further south, but it reported no casualties.
The UAE is a key member of the coalition that has been battling the Iran-backed Houthis and their allies since March last year in support of exiled President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi's internationally recognised government.
Since March 2015, the coalition has pushed the Houthis out of much of Yemen's south, but the their forces still control nearly all of the country's Red Sea coast as well as the capital, Sanaa.
THE Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthis forces, who hold the Yemeni capital Sanaa, now say Houthis threaten shipping in the Gulf of Aden now they "completely destroyed" an Emirati supply ship, reports London's Middle East Eye.
Arms shipments may be eye-catching, but of less useful than food and medicine. In war, days or weeks can pass with little ammunition expended, but food and medicine are consumed and depleted rapidly.
The Saudis, supporting the exiled government, say Houthi forces had attacked the vessel "on its usual route to and from [the southern port city of Aden to transfer relief and medical aid and evacuate wounded civilians".
"Coalition air and naval forces targeted Houthi militia boats involved in the attack" near the Bab al-Mandab, it said, while "coalition forces rescued civilian passengers following the attack".
"This incident demonstrates Houthi tactics of terrorist attacks against civilian international navigation in the Bab al-Mandab," the coalition said in a statement.
The strait is a major shipping lane between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden leading into the Indian Ocean.
Houthi forces, in a statement posted on their sabanews.net website, claimed the attack, which it said targeted and "completely destroyed" an Emirati warship with rockets as it neared Mokha on the Red Sea coast.
The United Arab Emirates military acknowledged "an incident" involving a chartered vessel under its command in the Bab al-Mandab as it was returning from a "routine" journey to Aden, further south, but it reported no casualties.
The UAE is a key member of the coalition that has been battling the Iran-backed Houthis and their allies since March last year in support of exiled President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi's internationally recognised government.
Since March 2015, the coalition has pushed the Houthis out of much of Yemen's south, but the their forces still control nearly all of the country's Red Sea coast as well as the capital, Sanaa.