Coalition: Hodeida ‘launch pad for missiles’

Riyadh: The spokesman of the Arab coalition in Yemen Col. Turki Al Maliki said investigations into a Turkish ship explosion last week showed that it was the result of a deliberate attack from Hodeida port.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, Col. Al Maliki noted that the “Al Houthi militia bears the legal responsibility for violating international law and the law of the sea in the zone”.

During the regular conference of the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition, Col. Al Maliki said Hodeida port became a point for smuggling ballistic missiles, and for hostilities in the Red Sea and the Bab Al Mandab strait, pointing out that targeting of the Turkish ship will have grave repercussions on the environment as well as the safety of ships in the zone.

Emirates Red Crescent teams have continued, for the third consecutive day, to distribute 500 Ramadan daily iftar meals to needy people in Taiz Governorate, as part of the ERC’s Ramadan iftar project during the Year of Zayed. WAM

Col. Al Maliki said the investigation into all the data that led to the explosion did not find any suspicious material on the ship, as it was carrying wheat coming from Russia. According to the ship’s captain and its crew, there was one boat that came within four nautical miles of this ship, as seen on the radar, before disappearing, just as the ship was attacked by a missile.

The missile penetrated the outer wall of the ship’s hull and hit the tank located on the side of the ship’s wall. Col. Al Maliki also said the Yemeni government has announced the Al Houthi militia detained many relief convoys and prevented relief teams from moving inside Yemen, describing these acts as a clear violation of Resolution 2216.

He also said Yemen’s airports and seaports were operating at full capacity, pointing out that the number of permits granted by the coalition to the relief agencies had reached 24,279, while the number of orders for not targeting the UN organisations inside Yemen reached 9,984.

He said so far 4,475,828 Yemenis had benefited from aid provided by King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre.

The Saudi ambassador to Yemen visited Socotra Island, and announced the opening of the first office for the reconstruction of Yemen on the island.

Meanwhile, Yemeni officials said shells fired by Al Houthis have killed at least five civilians in the central province of Marib.

The officials say the shelling early on Tuesday also wounded at least 20 people. Marib is about 115km east of Sana’a.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to talk to the media.