Houthis rejects UN call to release UAE vessel

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

I ran-backed Houthi militia had yesterday defied a call by the United Nations to release a United Arab Emirates-flagged vessel they seized off the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah earlier this month. Houthis seized the ship on January 3 along with its 11-member crew. They also released a video which they said shows military equipment on board.

The United Arab Emirates described the ‘Rwabee’ as a “civilian cargo vessel.” Houthi official Hussein al-Azzi said, “The Rwabee vessel was not carrying... toys for children but weapons for extremists.” UAE said the ship leased by a Saudi company was in international waters carrying equipment for a field hospital. Recently, A United Nations mission said it has spoken to crew members.

“As part of its routine weekly patrol, (the UN Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement) visited As-Salif port and neighbouring areas this afternoon. The patrol team saw the RWABEE vessel from a distance and spoke to its crew members,” the mission said on Twitter.

The UN Security Council had stressed “the importance of freedom of navigation in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea” a strategic route for international shipping.

It also called on “all parties to de-escalate the situation in Yemen,” including by working with the UN special envoy to return to the negotiating table. The UAE, part of the Arab coalition, described the seizing of the vessel as an act of “piracy.”

The coalition demanded the release of the vessel with its full cargo, warning that “launching piracy and kidnapping operations from any port in Yemen will make it a legitimate military target”, the Saudi-owned news channel said.