The Huthis have threatened to extend the conflict with the international coalition led by Saudi Arabia, which backs forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognized government, to the sea following their latest attacks on ports in the country.
The rebels’ military intelligence chief, Abdullah Yahya al Hakim, has warned that a naval confrontation with the coalition «could be one of the fiercest battles» since the start of the conflict and denounced that the sea «is occupied» by allied forces.
Thus, he maintained that «it is wrong to depend on a truce» and defended that «what is necessary is to strengthen at all levels the systems and tools of deterrence, both military and economic», as reported by the Yemeni television channel Al Masirah.
Al Hakim also said that the recent attack on the port of Qena, in the province of Shabua (south), makes it clear that the Huthis «will not allow the smuggling of fuel», while adding that it shows that the rebels «are not fleeing».
«The U.S. and Saudi encirclement must be withdrawn or the Armed Forces will face it in a dignified manner,» he has indicated. «Two naval messages have been sent to the enemy that we will not remain silent in the face of the suffering of our people,» he added.
«If the encirclement continues, the next messages will be stronger and more painful,» Al Hakim concluded, without the international coalition or the internationally recognized government commenting on the threats.
The war in Yemen pits the internationally recognized government, now represented by the Presidential Leadership Council and supported by the international coalition, against the Huthis, backed by Iran. The Huthis control the capital, Sana’a, and areas in the north and west of the country.
The United Nations special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, is trying to bring the parties closer together to relaunch the peace process, after the expiration in October of the truce agreed in April to mark the beginning of the month of Ramadan and subsequently extended on several occasions.
