houthis agree to 'truce' to rescue attacked oil tanker
2024-08-29
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reference news reported on august 29according to afp on august 28, iran's permanent mission to the united nations said on the 28th that the yemeni houthi armed forces have agreed to a "temporary truce" to facilitate the rescue of an oil tanker attacked by them because the tanker may bring an ecological disaster to the red sea.
the report said that the greek-flagged sounion tanker was attacked in the waters off the yemeni port of hodeidah last week. the iran-backed houthi rebels claimed to have attacked the tanker with drones and missiles.
the maritime trade operations office, which is directly under the british navy, later reported that three fires had broken out on the tanker. the houthis uploaded a video on social media showing that three explosions had occurred on the tanker carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil.
iran's permanent mission to the united nations said that "many parties" had asked the houthis to "temporarily cease fire to allow tugboats and rescue ships to enter the area". the delegation also said: "taking into account humanitarian and environmental concerns, the houthis agreed to this request."
however, the iranian delegation also pointed out that "rescue and prevention of crude oil leakage in the red sea" is difficult to accomplish, "more because of the carelessness of some countries than because of fear of becoming a target of attack."
the crew of the sounion tanker, including 23 filipinos and two russians, have reportedly been rescued by eu operation shield vessels. the eu also warned last week that tankers without crew members "pose a danger to both navigation and the environment." (compiled by lu longjun)
photos taken on august 25 show flames and smoke from the greek-flagged sounion tanker in the red sea. (reuters)
