In a recent interview with the BBC, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the head of Yemen’s Houthi supreme revolutionary committee, issued a stern warning to any country considering involvement in the United States-led Red Sea coalition.
Mohammed Ali al-Houthi emphasized that nations aligning themselves with this coalition risk losing their maritime security and becoming potential targets, Reuters reports. The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, emerged in the early 2000s as a Zaidi Shia Muslim rebel group in northern Yemen. The attacks on commercial vessels in the Southern Red Sea are retaliatory actions by the Houthis in response to Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
Their leader’s statement refers to the Governments of the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, which issued a statement on January 3, which condemned Red Sea attacks and called for an end to the situation or there would be consequences.
Generally, ongoing conflicts in the Red Sea have challenged the safety of seafarers and vessels transiting the area, leading to operators avoiding these waters. As this route is crucial, there already has been a growing disruption in the global supply chain.
