Two crew members of a merchant ship were killed in a missile attack by Houthi rebels off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, in what appeared to be their first direct fatal attack, an American military official said.
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In recent months, Yemeni rebels close to Iran have stepped up attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, key sea passages for global trade.
They say they are targeting ships they believe are linked to Israel or its allies, particularly the Americans and the British, and claim they are acting in support of Gaza, a Palestinian territory ruled by Israel is bombed and besieged.
Wednesday's attack caused “significant damage” to the ship MV True Confidence and its “crew reported at least two dead and six injured among their ranks,” according to the American official, who requested anonymity.
Earlier in the day, maritime security agencies reported that an attack on the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier was struck and damaged off the coast of Aden in southern Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula that has been at war for nearly a decade .
The UKMTO agency, run by the British Navy, said the crew had to abandon the ship.
“Today the Houthis killed innocent civilians,” the American official lamented.
For its part, the British Embassy for Yemen expressed regret in an international message.
In a statement on social media, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the True Confidence was hit by “missiles” after “the crew rejected warnings,” leading to a “fire” breaking out.
“Responsible”
According to the UKMTO, the merchant ship was contacted by “a unit posing as a Yemeni navy and ordered it to change course.”
The British Maritime Safety Authority Ambrey confirmed that this bulk carrier belonged to an American company. But the American official, for his part, assured that there was a connection with Liberia.
UKMTO reported intervention by “coalition forces” on the damaged ship. The United States deployed a multinational force off the coast of Yemen in December to protect merchant ships from these attacks.
After Wednesday's deadly attack, an American diplomatic spokesman said Wednesday that Washington would continue to demand that the Houthis be “held accountable.”
The actions of these rebels, who control swathes of Yemen, have forced many shipowners to suspend transit on these important shipping routes.
According to the International Monetary Fund, container shipping through the Red Sea is down nearly 30% year-on-year. According to the European Union, between 12 and 15% of global traffic passed through this axis before the war.
On Tuesday, the US military said it shot down a missile and three drones belonging to Yemeni rebels that targeted a US Navy destroyer in the Red Sea.
The day before, the Houthis had attacked a container ship belonging to the Italian-Swiss shipping company MSC, claiming it was an “Israeli ship”.
The American official assured that the Houthis had fired five anti-missile missiles off Yemen in two days, two of which hit their target.
In February, these Yemeni insurgents attacked a ship carrying chemical fertilizers that sank and now risks causing significant environmental damage in the Red Sea.