The leader of Yemen's Houthi militia said on Thursday that his forces had launched 403 drones and missiles against 61 ships in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden since the start of their offensive, adding that counterattacks from US and British military forces had strengthened his group. .
In his televised address, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi said 19 missiles and drones against seven ships had been launched since Friday and modern weaponry was used that was undetected by the US and British navies.
“In yesterday's attack, there was admiration for the precision of the attack and the power of the damage,” he said, referring to Wednesday's attack.
A missile fired by the Houthis struck the M/V True Confidence, a Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk carrier, in the Gulf of Aden. Three sailors were killed and four injured, three of whom remain in a critical condition according to a statement by the US Central Command on Thursday. Significant damage was also caused to the ship.
This comes as Houthi media reports that the US and UK conducted two airstrikes on Ras Isa in the western Hodeidah province on Thursday, less than a day after another round of US and UK airstrikes hit the city’s airport.
The US military is said to have carried out preemptive attacks on ballistic missiles, drones, and remotely operated and explosive-laden boats which the Houthis planned to fire at international and commercial ships in the Red Sea from areas under their control in Yemen.
At the same time, the Houthis said they had attacked the M/V True Confidence and other ships after its warnings against entering the Red Sea were disregarded. The group also accused the US of pressuring ships to challenge its blockade against vessels bound for Israel.
In a post on X, Mohammed Abdulsalam, a chief negotiator for the Houthis, said: “The Yemeni military does not strike any ship until it is instructed not to cross, and some comply and depart, while others that refuse are attacked. We hold America responsible for the repercussions of any events in the Red Sea.”
The head of the Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee, Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, said the group did not intend to kill civilian sailors on the M/V True Confidence. He added that if the US shared the cost, the Houthis would compensate the families of those killed and injured. “We feel that America should compensate these victims for a purposeful act. We are also willing to compensate them for an unintended act,” Mohammed Al-Houthi wrote on X.
Since November, the Houthis have seized one commercial ship and launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and drone boats against commercial and navy vessels in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab and the Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis say their actions are in support of the Palestinian people and to push Israel to allow food, water and medicine into the besieged Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a group of eight East African countries based in Djibouti, expressed concern on Thursday about an impending environmental disaster on the M/V Rubymar, which sank after being struck by a Houthi missile in February. The group said if the cargo of 21,000 tonnes of ammonium phosphate fertilizer and 200 tonnes of oil leaked into the sea, it would take more than 30 years to clean up.
A statement by the group said: “IGAD calls upon all the stakeholders to invest in peaceful options to address the looming environmental disaster in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The attacks on the ship must cease forthwith.”
Blame game
An early report by Israeli news site Globes alleged that the cables were sabotaged by Houthi militants, without providing any supporting evidence. Representatives for the Houthi government, which is not recognized by the international community, have denied targeting the cables. On Tuesday, Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi ruling political council, said on X that the US was responsible, without further explanation.
Moammar al-Eryani, the minister of information, culture and tourism at Yemen’s internationally-recognized government, told Bloomberg on Wednesday that even if the Houthis didn’t directly target the cables, they were to blame for the damage because of their “terrorist activities” in the Red Sea.
Data from the Rubymar’s location tracking device before the ship lost power indicates that it traveled close to the cables that were damaged. “The anchor would have scraped along the sea floor as it drifted and damaged the cables,” said Roderick Beck, a consultant who sources network capacity on subsea cables for telecommunications clients.
Under normal circumstances, ships have access to maps of sub-sea cables and avoid dropping their anchors in those areas. There are 14 in-service cables running through the Red Sea, with a further six planned, according to TeleGeography, which maintains a comprehensive map of the infrastructure.
Some reports have mentioned a fourth damaged cable, known as Tata TGN-Eurasia, but this is another name for the Seacom system, according to Tim Stronge, vice president of research at TeleGeography.
The South African company Seacom Ltd. controls the Seacom cable and Chief Digital Officer Prenesh Padayachee previously told Bloomberg the company couldn’t determine the cause of the damage until it had inspected it. But a dragged anchor seemed likely, he said.
The company expects to start repairs “early during Q2,” but the schedule depends on getting a permit to work in Yemeni waters, Seacom told Bloomberg in a statement.
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