Yemen s Houthis have seized an Emirati-flagged ship in the Red Sea, opening up another front with Saudi Arabia as the long-running war escalates.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the impoverished country's civil war in 2015 and called for the Iran-aligned rebels to release the vessel immediately, threatening the use of force to secure its release.
Brigadier Yahya Sarie, the military spokesmen of the Houthis, said the United Arab Emirates military cargo ship had entered Yemeni waters without a licence and had been involved in hostilities targeting the security and stability of Yemeni people. Saudi-coalition said that the vessel, named Rwabee, was seized late on Sunday while carrying equipment from a decommissioned field hospital in the island of Socotra to the Saudi port of Jizan, including ambulances, communication devices and security
The act of piracy is a credible threat that highlights the dangers of the Houthi militia on the freedom of navigation and international trade, it said in a statement carried by the official Saudi news agency.
The incident marks the first Houthi seizure of international shipping since 2019, when the rebels briefly held South Korean and Saudi-flagged vessels in the waters off Yemen.
The seizure of the vessel represents a further escalation in the bloody battle for Yemen that has pushed the country to the brink of famine. Saudi Arabia first intervened in 2015 and led a coalition of nations, including the UAE, in order to restore the government that was ousted by the Houthis. In 2019 the Emiratis withdrew their military forces from Yemen.
The proxy battle between Saudi Arabia and its regional foe Iran has been deadlocked for a long time, with the Houthis controlling the more populous northern highlands and the Riyadh-allied government based in the southern port city of Aden.
Riyadh and Tehran last year engaged in several rounds of talks as they tried to reduce tensions with the potential restoration of diplomatic ties that were cut in 2016. The war in Yemen has been high on the agenda. Saudi Arabia accuses the Houthis of relying on Iran for armaments, a charge denied by the rebels.
In recent weeks, the Houthis and coalition forces have engaged in more tit-for-tat violence, including cross-border naval and missile attacks on civilian and oil targets in the kingdom and Saudi air strikes on the capital, Sana a.
The ground battle continues on the natural gas-rich province of Marib, where thousands of Houthi soldiers have launched an offensive against the region's main city to the east of Sana, which remains under the control of the internationally recognised government.
The UN has tried to end the conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced several million others because of the upswing in fighting.