Yemen: Houthis attack southern oil port again

Yemen’s Houthi-aligned armed forces have targeted an oil port in the south eastern Hadhramout province with another drone attack, a month after a similar attack against the same port and threats to hit international oil tankers accused of “looting” the country’s natural resources.

According to the internationally-recognised government, Al-Dhabba oil terminal was attacked while commercial vessels were anchored. The defence ministry claims to have intercepted drones.

A security official informed Xinhua news agency that a bomb-laden drone targeted the oil port, but that no casualties or property damage had been caused due to beefed up defences following previous drone attacks.

The spokesperson for the Houthi-allied military, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said that the armed forces had thwarted a foreign oil tanker from “stealing” Yemen’s oil.

“The Yemeni armed forces succeeded in forcing an oil ship, which tried to reach the port of Al-Dhaba in the south of the country, to leave,” Saree tweeted last night. “The armed forces continue to defend the sovereign national treasure so that its income can be used to benefit Yemenis and pay the salary of every employee in all regions of Yemen.”

After last month’s drone incident, senior Houthi official Mohammed Bukhaiti said that the attack was “a warning to the oil tanker commissions which steal Yemen’s oil. The attack was not aimed at targeting the terminal.” He added that, “Next time, the oil tankers will be targeted unless the aggressive countries stop stealing our wealth and direct the revenues to paying salaries. Any escalation by the enemy will be met with a similar escalation at sea and on the ground.”

OPINION: Did the Houthis succeed in disrupting the oil sector?