The head of the Yemeni National Salvation Government, Abdulaziz bin Habtur, has threatened Tuesday to launch an offensive against «oil-looting» ships, in line with the recent Huthi attack on a vessel in the eastern Yemeni province of Hadramut.
«In the coming days, we will not warn the ships, but will attack them directly. The world must know that we will not let our people starve while they manipulate Yemen’s wealth,» he clarified.
In a press statement carried by the Yemeni state news agency, Bin Habtur stressed that Sana’a is exercising «its right to defend the interests and wealth of the Yemeni people,» as well as to «stop the theft of the people’s funds by those affiliated with the Saudi-led coalition.»
This comes after the Huthis attacked a port in Hadramut province with a drone as part of an alleged oil unloading at Al Dhaba port, Huthi military spokesman Yahya Sari denounced.
«The enemy tried to carry out actions that the Armed Forces could observe and handle properly, but the ship, which was on a mission to steal huge quantities of oil, refused to listen to warnings,» he has said.
The war in Yemen pits the internationally recognized government, now represented by the Presidential Leadership Council and supported by the international coalition led by Saudi Arabia, 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.
