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Saudi-led coalition, Houthi rebels trade gunfire in the Red Sea

October 3, 2016 at 4:25 am

Saudi-led forces have hit a Yemeni Houthi rebel’s militia boats, Sunday, after the insurgent’s forces had attacked a civilian logistics ship on a humanitarian voyage in the Red Sea.

Houthi forces had attacked an Australian-built high-speed logistics catamaran under lease to the United Arab Emirates military, near the Bab al-Mandab strait off Yemen’s southern coast on Saturday. However, civilians and crew escaped unharmed.

According to the Saudi-led coalition the vessel – which was owned by the UAE Marine Dredging Company – was:

on its usual route to and from Aden to transfer relief and medical aid and evacuate wounded civilians to complete their treatment outside Yemen … Coalition air and naval forces were targeting Houthi militia boats involved in the attack

 

The Saudi-led coalition went on to call the Houthis terrorists. However, the Houthis denied that their forces had been hit and said that, instead, a UAE military vessel had been destroyed. The – Houthi dominated – Saba Yemeni news agency said:

Armed forces destroyed with a missile a military vessel belonging to the forces of the UAE

 

The US State Department also waded in and demanded that the Houthis stop attacks against vessels. State Department spokesman, John Kirby said in a statement

These provocative actions risk exacerbating the current conflict and narrow the prospects for a peaceful settlement