Yemeni rebels claim seized UAE ship was transporting weapons

Saudi-controlled outlets claim the weapons were ‘planted’

A handout frame grab from a video made available by the Houthis movement shows a UAE-flagged ship after it was seized by the Houthis off the Red Sea coast (EPA)

Yemen’s rebel government unveiled weapons it says it seized on Monday aboard a United Arab Emirates-flagged military ship ferrying equipment bound for the Saudi-led armed forces it is fighting.

But sources speaking to Saudi-controlled news outlets claimed the military vehicles and rifles displayed by the Iranian-backed Houthi forces at a televised press conference were “planted”.

That is despite markings on some of the equipment denoting it as belonging to the Saudi-led coalition of forces fighting the Houthis, formally known as Ansarullah.

The ship seizure has escalated tempers in a war that has already killed at least 370,000 people and displaced nearly four million.

Saudi Arabia had insisted the ship was carrying medical equipment and has threatened military action to regain control of the vessel. Brig-Gen Yahya Sarea, speaking at the press conference, warned the Houthis would respond to any aggression with “various land and sea military operations”.

The Saudi-led coalition on Tuesday evening demanded the release of the vessel, according to a report in Al Arabiya.

The seizing of the ship, the Rwabee, off the contested port city of Hudaydah and subsequent tough talk by both Saudi Arabia and the Houthi officials dashed hopes for a speedy resolution of the seven-year conflict which has plunged one of the world’s poorest regions into new depths of despair and violence.

Hudaydah has been one of the focal points of the war, despite a United Nations-brokered 2018 ceasefire that has been repeatedly violated.

The UN envoy to the Hudaydah agreement has urged the warring parties to stop fighting; the port is a vital gateway for food and humanitarian aid, as well as trade.

“Women and children continue to suffer from the brunt of hostilities between the warring parties in the southern districts of Hudaydah governorate,” the UN mission, known as UNMHA, said in tweets last month.

“UNMHA appeals to the parties to de-escalate the situation and take all measures to avoid incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, and damage to civilian objects.”