Yemen’s Houthi movement may block the Red Sea shipping lane, in case the Saudi-led coalition continues to pushing toward the port of Hodeidah it controls.
While no detailed information were given on how Houthis will conduct such a move, Reuters reports that the Bab al-Mandab strait, the part where Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea, is only 20 km (12 mile) wide, thus making many ships easy targets.
If no solution is found, a block of the international navigation in the Red Sea is possible, Houthis’ Ansarullah political council chief, Saleh al-Samad was quoted as saying.
In the meanwhile,U.N. officials are attempting to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table after talks stopped in 2016.
The Saudi-led coalition is trying for almost 3 years to capture Yemen’s biggest port, Hodeidah, which receives 80% of Yemen’s imports, Reuters reports.
In November 2017, the Houthi movement warned that it could attack warships and oil tankers from enemy countries, in retaliation against the closure of Yemeni ports by a Saudi-led military coalition earlier the same month.
