Houthis attack on Saudi tankers a terrorist act: Yemen govt

 The Yemeni government has strongly condemned Houthis' attack on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said Thursday night.

In a statement carried by the Yemeni news agency, the government said the incident is a terrorist act aiming to harm the vital interests of Yemen and the freedom of international navigation.

The statement called on the world community to immediately come up to support the government's military efforts to purge the western coast from the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen and mount pressure on them to withdraw from the city of Hodeidah, confirming that the continuation of the militias’ control on Hodeidah and its strategic port would expose international navigation to terror attacks.

The statement underscored the steps being taken by the legitimate government in cooperation with the Arab Coalition, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to protect the western coast of Yemen and Yemen in general from the danger of the terrorist militias, which unequivocally proved to be a real threat, not only to Yemen, but also to the international peace and security.

Yemeni Vice President Lt. Gen. Ali Mohsen said that the Houthi attack on the Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea waters west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah is a terrorist act, according to the official Yemeni news agency.

Ali Mohsen indicated that the militia's repeated attacks, with Iranian support, on international shipping are an obstruction to the efforts that the UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths is exerting to bring about peace.

He said the attack further establishes the militia's use of Hodeidah seaport as a launch pad for their numerous terrorist operations.

He said that the insistence of the government and the Arab Coalition on liberating Hodeidah from the Houthis' control emanates from their concern about the threat the Houthis pose to regional and global security including to international shipping.

Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr. Abdullatif Bin Rashed Al-Zayani strongly denounced the Houthis' attack on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, describing the act as heinous and reflects the great threat represented by the Houthi group on the freedom of navigation and world trade in the Red Sea.

"The attack is an act of terrorism that has threatened regional security and peace," he said in a statement.

Al-Zayani called on the UN Security Council to deter the Houthi group and stop its flagrant violation of international laws, jeopardizing the freedom of navigation in Bab El-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea and threatening the interests of the countries overlooking it as well as the entire world.

The United Arab Emirates too strongly condemned the Houthis' attack on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, which might have caused an environmental disaster in the important international shipping corridor.

"The attack is an act of terrorism that has jeopardized international navigation, and confirms the continued threat of the Houthi terrorist militias to the freedom of navigation and world trade in the Red Sea," the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement.

The Ministry also expressed its concern about the repeated targeting of international shipping lines by the Houthi rebels.

The statement stressed: "This cowardly attack mirrors the negative and dangerous role played by Iran in support of these coup militias and insisting on its hostile practices through providing the Houthi terrorists with weapons, equipment and ballistic missiles that threaten peace and security in the region."

The ministry emphasized the UAE's full support for Saudi Arabia against anyone who tries to harm its security or interests, while stressing at the same time the strong security relationship between the two countries.

The ministry also reiterated the UAE's unwavering commitment as part of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition to achieve security and stability in Yemen, and said that it is fully aware of the connection of this goal to the security and stability of the region.

”This terrorist attack confirms the continuation of the militias’ escalation to evade a political solution to the Yemeni crisis and affirms the rebellious mentality of the militias that is causing suffering to the people of Yemeni," the statement concluded.

Meanwhile, Bahrain, too, strongly condemned the Houthi attack on two oil tankers belonging to the Saudi National Shipping Company (NSC) while the vessels were crossing Bab El-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms that the cowardly attack constitutes a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms and poses a serious threat to the freedom of international trade and maritime navigation in Bab El-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea."

"Whilst reiterating its full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and supporting the measures it takes to preserve its resources and deter attempts to harm its security, Bahrain emphasizes the need for immediate global action to put an end to such dangerous acts," the ministry stressed in a statement issued Thursday.

The ministry called upon the international community to confront the terror acts of the Houthi militias in Yemen and to stand up to all those who support them and provide them with funds in order to protect international navigation in Bab El-Mandab Strait.

Meanwhile, Arab League Secretary General Dr. Ahmed Abdulghait, too, condemned the attack on two oil tankers by the Iran-backed Houthi militias of Yemen.

Mahmoud Afifi, official spokesman of the Arab League, said on Thursday that the Houthis targeting the maritime navigation in the Red Sea constitutes a threat to the international trade traffic and doubles the security risks in this strategic zone.

He said the matter requires a unified position to denounce such serious behavior, noting that the Houthis are providing every day a new evidence of their reluctance to join any serious effort to bring about peace and security to Yemen, holding them accountable for the continuing suffering of the Yemeni people due to the continuation of conflict among the Yemenis.

In a related development, the Speaker of the Arab Parliament Dr. Mishaal Bin Fahm Al-Salami also condemned the targeting of oil tankers in the Red Sea by the Houthis.

"The targeting of oil tankers by Iranian Houthi militias in the Red Sea is a terrorist act and a serious threat to international peace and security which requires an immediate and decisive action by the international community to secure oil lines to the world and hold accountable Houthi militias and the countries and groups supporting them," he said in a statement on Thursday.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), too, issued a statement condemning the targeting of Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea by Houthi militias, which confirms the continuing threat to international navigation.

The Secretary-General of the Organization, Dr. Yousef Bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen said: "The repeated attacks by Houthi militias on vessels passing through this strategic corridor negatively affect the security of the important waterways of trade and the global economy, exacerbate the instability in this region of the world and affirm the aggressive policy of these militias aiming to threaten the security of navigation in the Red Sea and destabilize the countries bordering it."

Dr. Al-Othaimeen added: "The targeting of giant oil tankers passing through Bab El-Mandab does not only jeopardize the global economy, but also jeopardizes the safety of crews and seriously damages the marine environment as such aggression could cause large quantities of oil leakage, which threatens maritime environment with pollution."

The official spokesman for Yemen Scholars Association Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hazmi also condemned the Houthis for targeting the oil tankers in the Strait of Bab El-Mandab and international corridors.

He said, "We strongly condemn the targeting of oil tankers in Bab El-Mandab Strait, which remained safe over the previous period until Iran-backed Houthi militias appeared."