Cairo: Yemen’s internationally-recognised government has voiced backing for moves by a Saudi-led Arab alliance to protect navigation in the Red Sea, a week after Iran-allied Al Houthi militants attacked oil tankers.
The Yemeni Foreign Ministry called on the UN Security Council to “shoulder its responsibility,” for protecting international navigation in the region.
“Protecting the international navigation waterway south off the Red Sea and Bab Al Mandab is not confined to the Yemeni government and the [Arab] coalition. It is a vital zone for international trade,” the ministry added in a statement, according to Yemen’s official news agency Saba.
The announced backing came hours after the Arab Coalition said it has taken the “necessary measures” to maintain free world navigation in the Red Sea.
“The coalition forces command, in coordination with the international community, has taken all the necessary measures to ensure the continuation of free sea navigation and trade through Bab Al Mandab and south of the Red Sea,” spokesman for the alliance Turki Al Malaki said without elaborating.
Last week, Saudi Arabia temporarily halted its oil shipments through the Bab Al Mandab Strait after Al Houthis attacked two Saudi oil tankers off Yemen’s west coast.
Bab Al Mandab is a major waterway connecting the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
Al Malaki warned that Al Houthis’ acts against Red Sea navigation will lead to an “environmental and economic catastrophe” harmful to the region and the world.
The threats by the Iran-aligned militiamen are seen as a response to their military setbacks they have suffered since June when the Arab Coalition unleashed a massive offensive to dislodge them from the Red Sea city of Hodeida and its vital harbour.
In late 2014, Al Houthis staged a coup against Yemen’s internationally recognised government and seized swathes of the
country’s territory including the capital Sana’a.
In March 2015, neighbouring Saudi Arabia led the Arab coalition and initiated a military campaign against Al Houthis in Yemen
after the extremists advanced on the southern city of Aden, the temporary capital of the country after their takeover of Sana’a.
Saudi Arabia is also a major financial backer of the Yemeni government and the war-devastated country’s reconstruction.
Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi on Wednesday laid the foundation stones for eight projects, financed by Saudi
Arabia in the south-eastern province of Al Mahrah.
The 133-million-dollar projects include the construction of a university and a medical city, rehabilitation of the province’s airport and harbour and revamp of its water and electricity facilities, Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al Jaber said.
The envoy, who attended the launch ceremony, added that the Saudi-led coalition aims at expediting humanitarian and development projects in Yemen.
