Houthis Seize 'Hostile' Vessel off Yemen; Saudis Claim Ship Carried Med Equipment
The Iran-aligned Houthi movement that controls most of northern Yemen hijacked a United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo vessel engaged in "hostile acts" but which the Saudis said was carrying hospital equipment.The ship was heading to the Saudi port of Jizan, just north of Yemen, from the Yemeni Red Sea island of Socotra when it was attacked just before midnight on Sunday, Saudi state news agency SPA reported, quoting coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Malki.Saudi Arabia…
Houthis to Allow U.N. to Inspect Ships in Hodeidah
Yemen's Houthi movement and the United Nations have agreed on a mechanism to inspect ships docking at Hodeidah following the group's withdrawal from three Red Sea ports under a U.N.-sponsored deal, a Houthi official and a U.N. source said.The Houthis' unilateral pullout last month from the ports of Saleef, used for grain, Ras Isa oil terminal and Hodeidah, the main entry point for commercial and aid imports, represented the only progress in implementing the deal reached last December."We agreed with the U.N. on a mechanism to inspect ships docking in the ports of Hodeidah and its implementation will start in the coming days," Houthi…
Yemen's Maarib Oil Pipeline Blown up Again
Reuters - Unidentified assailants blew up Yemen's Maarib oil pipeline on Monday night, halting crude flows to the Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea, a local official said. The attack, in al-Damashqa area of the central oil-producing province of Maarib, caused a fire, the official said. Yemen, which relies on crude exports to finance up to 70 percent of budget spending, has suffered frequent bombings of its oil pipelines over the last three years. Tribesmen often carry out such attacks to pressure the government to create more jobs, settle land disputes, or free their relatives from prison. Before the spate of attacks began in 2011, the 270-mile pipeline carried around 110,000 barrels per day to Ras Isa.
