Yemen’s Houthis warn of cutting off Red Sea shipping line

SANAA: Yemen’s Houthi rebels warned of cutting off the Red Sea shipping line if the Saudi-led coalition forces keep advancing towards the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, China’s Xinhua news agency reported, citing Houthicontrolled Saba news agency yesterday.

“We will block the Red Sea international shipping line in the Red Sea if Saudi-led aggression coalition forces keep advancing towards Hodeidah,” Saba quoted Houthi leader Saleh al- Sammad as saying.

The threat was made by alSammad, who is the chief of the Houthi governing body, known as the Supreme Political Council, during his meeting with visiting UN deputy envoy Maeen Sharim in Houthi-held capital Sanaa.

The warning was a “deterrent step” that aimed to exert pressure on the Saudi-led coalition, as targeting the Red Sea shipping route could have international economic consequences, according to Saba.

Recently, the ground battles backed by the coalition air strikes have intensified around Hodeidah as the coalition forces are pushing towards the rebel-held port city to recapture it.

The US-backed coalition accuses Houthis of smuggling weapons through the Hodeidah port and collecting customs revenues from imported goods to finance the war, which the Houthis have denied.

Hodeidah port city, where 80 per cent of Yemen’s food imports arrive, is the only port kept by Houthi rebels after the Saudiled coalition and the Yemeni government forces recaptured the southern port city of Aden along with other southern governorates in 2016. — Bernama