Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
19-07-2024
SANA’A/ DUBAI: Yemeni Houthi rebels have released a video of an attack they claim to have carried out on an oil tanker in the Red Sea.
The footage shows a small vessel approach, then collide with the left side of the ship, resulting in a large explosion.
Media Verify has confirmed that the tanker seen in the video is the CHIOS Lion by comparing the video to known images of the vessel.
Ship-tracking data shows that the CHIOS Lion set off from the Russian port of Tuapse on 2 July and entered the Red Sea on 11 July.
There is no tracking data available of its journey through the Red Sea, but the timing and location of the strike on 15 July, as reported by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), is consistent with the speed and direction in which the tanker was travelling.
Houthi rebels have launched dozens of attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November – shortly after the Israel-Gaza war began.
Why are the Houthis attacking Red Sea ships?
The Houthis consider Israel an enemy, and initially said they were attacking ships connected with Israel, or heading to or from there. However, many of the vessels have had no connection with Israel.
More recently, the Houthis have targeted ships tied to owners or operators in the UK or US, after those nations launched strikes on Houthi positions.
Major shipping companies have stopped using the Red Sea through which almost 15% of global seaborne trade usually passes and are using a much longer route around southern Africa instead.
Houthi rebels have launched more than 40 attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November.
The Houthis are an Iranian-backed rebel group which considers Israel an enemy.
In response to the war in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis started firing drones and missiles towards Israel. Most have been intercepted.
On 19 November, the Houthis hijacked a commercial ship in the Red Sea.
They have since launched dozens of missile and drone attacks on commercial ships. Of these, 34 have resulted in reported damage to vessels.
The Rubymar, a cargo ship which was hit in February, later sank.
On 6 March, three crew members were killed in a missile attack on the Barbados-flagged cargo ship True Confidence.
US-led naval forces have thwarted many attacks.
The Houthis initially said they were attacking ships connected with Israel, or heading to or from there. However, many of the vessels have no connection with Israel.
In response to US and UK air strikes on their positions, the Houthis have more recently targeted ships tied to owners or operators in the UK or US.
The Houthis are an armed political and religious group which champions Yemen’s Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis.
They declare themselves to be part of the Iranian-led “axis of resistance” against Israel, the US and the wider West along with armed groups such as Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement.
Formally known as the Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), the group emerged in the 1990s and takes its name from the movement’s late founder, Hussein al-Houthi. The current leader is his brother, Abdul Malik al-Houthi.
In the early 2000s, the Houthis fought a series of rebellions against Yemen’s long-time authoritarian president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. They wanted greater autonomy for the group’s homeland in the north of Yemen. (Int’l News Desk)
