The attack was carried out using two ballistic missiles, according to a Houthi announcement…reports Asian Lite News
Yemen’s internationally recognised government has expressed strong condemnation for the Houthi group’s assault on a commercial ship carrying 40,000 ton of grain intended for the war-ravaged Yemen.
In a statement released by the state-run Saba news agency, the government said on Wednesday that the ship named the Sea Champion was fired upon by Houthi forces on Monday while sailing from Argentina to the port of Aden in southern Yemen, Xinhua news agency reported.
The attack was carried out using two ballistic missiles, according to a Houthi announcement.
The government added that the ship was carrying a cargo of 40,000 ton of grain, of which 9,229 ton of corn were destined for Aden. The rest was to be unloaded at the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah.
The Sea Champion has delivered vital food aid to Yemen 11 times over the past five years since the outbreak of the country’s civil war, according to the government.
Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani described the assault as “a dangerous escalation of Houthi attacks on commercial ships”.
He accused the Houthis of exacerbating Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and forcing innocent civilians to pay the price.
The Houthis have stepped up their attacks on international shipping since mid-November last year, saying they were in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza who faced Israeli attacks.
US Warplanes Launch Airstrikes Targeting Yemen’s Hodeidah Port City
US warplanes launched five airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, media reported.
The strikes hit in the area of Ras Issa in the district of al-Salif, northwest of the city, said the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV report on Wednesday, adding that there were no casualties.
Hodeidah’s residents said there were huge explosions in the Houthi-controlled military sea base in Ras Issa, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Houthis have been launching anti-ship missile attacks against international shipping vessels transiting the Red Sea since the past mid-November in what they said in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Many ships have been damaged, forcing several major shipping companies to change routes around Africa, which increased the prices of shipping and goods.
The US military, which has been hitting Houthi targets almost on a daily basis since January, has yet to comment on the alleged fresh strikes.
The armed Houthis have been controlling the strategic Hodeidah since the 2018 UN-sponsored Stockholm Agreement, which was backed by the US and Britain, forcing the internationally recognised government out.