Yemeni Army Accuses Militias of Testing Anti-Ship Missile

Arab World

November 19th, 8:01am

Aden - Ali Rabih

All evidence showed the involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the launching process. Photo: Houthi media

The Yemeni army accused the Houthi militia of testing an anti-ship missile launched from Sanaa, which landed in the Red Sea waters off Hodeidah. The army spokesman, Brigadier General Abdo Majali, announced that the Houthis conducted an anti-ship missile test from the Nehm district, which landed west of Hodeidah in international waters. Majali warned the militias of the consequences, considering it another hostile operation. He stressed that all evidence showed the involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the launching process and its continuous support for the militia. Houthi threats and targeting of Shabwa and Hadramout ports undermine regional and international security, said Majali, calling on the international community to shoulder its responsibility in protecting international waterways and ensuring freedom of maritime navigation. Meanwhile, the head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, asserted that the decision to classify the Houthis as a terrorist group takes into consideration concerns about the flow of aid. Alimi received in Riyadh the Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy, Inger Tangborn, and they discussed the latest developments in Yemen and the joint efforts to alleviate peoples' suffering. Official sources said that the meeting touched on the repercussions of Houthi terrorist threats and attacks on the economic and commercial facilities upon the livelihoods of the Yemeni people, the international security and peace, and the required measures to contain those implications. Alimi cited the government measures to deter the Houthi terrorist threat, including the National Defense Council's resolution to designate the militia as a terrorist organization. According to official sources, the President reassured humanitarian organizations, relief agencies, and the private sector, stressing that designating Houthis as a terrorist organization will take into account all concerns related to the flow of aid to the Yemeni people, warning against dealing with militias outside the framework of approved agreements. The President highly praised the role of the UK and US in supporting the Central Bank of Yemen with $300 million from Yemen's Special Drawing Right of the International Monetary Fund, reported Saba News Agency. He asserted the importance of this step to bolster trust in the national currency, help ongoing imports of essential commodities, and improve the livelihood of the Yemeni people across the country. The President praised the US efforts to implement the resolution to ban weapons sent to the Houthi terrorist militias, which led to the interception of many Iranian smuggling ships, most recently when the US Fifth Fleet intercepted an Iranian ship laden with explosives in the Gulf of Oman. Yemenis and the international community fear that the Houthi escalation would torpedo all peace efforts, especially since the group insisted on rejecting to renew the UN-sponsored ceasefire and deliberately aggravated the situation by bombing oil export ports. Next week, the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, will brief the UN Security Council on his latest efforts to persuade the Houthis to renew the armistice.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3995881/yemeni-army-accuses-militias-testing-anti-ship-missile