Houthis Claim Attack on Two Saudi Oil Tankers in Red Sea
Members of the Yemeni Coast Guard affiliated with the Houthi group patrol the sea as demonstrators march through the Red Sea port city of Hodeida in solidarity with the people of Gaza on January 4, 2024, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the militant Hamas group in Gaza.
Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, said on Thursday that it had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea for violating the naval blockade imposed on Saudi Arabia. On Monday, a Houthi military spokesman announced that the movement had imposed a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the blockade of its airports and ports. «Within the context of breaking the unjust and oppressive siege imposed by the Saudi enemy on our dear people for twelve years, and in affirmation of the equation of ‘siege for a siege,’ and in confirmation of the right of our great people to confront Saudi-American injustice and tyranny and to reclaim their wealth and legitimate rights, the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a qualitative military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers that violated the blockade imposed by the Armed Forces in the Red Sea. One tanker was named ‘ENCELIA’ and the other is ‘LAYLA,» the movement said in a statement. The statement added that ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, were used in the attack, which resulted in a massive fire on both vessels. «In the same context, the Yemeni Armed Forces forced approximately ten ships to retreat and return. The Armed Forces will continue their naval operations against the Saudi enemy and will persist in enforcing the ‘A siege for a siege’ equation,» the statement noted.Maritime data shows at least nine vessels reversed course after the Houthi blockade announcement — including three that had loaded oil at Saudi’s Yanbu terminal.
