GCC chief blasts hijacking of UAE cargo ship

Agencies | Riyadh

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com 

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf has condemned as an "act of terrorism" the hijacking of the UAE-flagged vessel Rwabee by the Houthi militias while en route from Yemen to Saudi Arabia.

"This crime of robbery and piracy put in grave peril the international maritime navigation in Bab al-Mandab Strait and the southern Red Sea," he said in a statement.

"This act of terrorism is tantamount to a war crime as it hinders the free shipping movement and jeopardizes the safety of international navigation. It is a blatant violation of the international humanitarian law, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 and the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime of 2000."

On behalf of the GCC member countries, he stated support to, and solidarity with, the United Arab Emirates in whatever measures it might take to protect its interests against such "brutal aggressions," Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.

Dr Al-Hajraf urged the international community to shoulder its responsibility and deter the terrorist Houthi militias from persisting in such hostile practices.

Rwabee was hijacked late on Sunday as it was carrying medical equipment from a decommissioned field hospital in Socotra Island in the Arabian Sea to Jazan Port in southwest Saudi Arabia.