houthi armed forces: agree to drag away
2024-08-30
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iran's permanent mission to the united nations said on the evening of the 28th that the yemeni houthi armed forces "for humanitarian and environmental considerations" agreed to allow tugboats and rescue ships to approach the "sounion" tanker that was previously attacked by them in the red sea.
the sounion tanker flies the greek flag and carries about 150,000 tons of crude oil.
iran's permanent mission to the united nations said that several countries called on the houthis to temporarily cease fire to allow tugboats and rescue ships to enter the sea area where the incident occurred, and the houthis agreed to the request.
houthi spokesman mohammed abdulsalam told reuters and yemen's saba news agency on the same day that the houthis currently do not have a "temporary ceasefire" but agreed to have the sounion towed away by a tugboat after contacting several countries, especially european countries. he did not disclose which countries had contact with the houthis or other details.
the "sounion" oil tanker was attacked by houthi armed forces in the red sea waters about 77 nautical miles west of the yemeni port city of hodeidah on the 21st. the hull was damaged and caught fire, and it is still floating in these waters.
reuters reported that public opinion was concerned that if the crude oil on board the sounion leaked, it could cause one of the worst oil tanker oil spills in history, endangering maritime navigation and the marine environment.
there are different opinions on whether the crude oil on board the tanker has begun to leak. patrick ryder, a spokesman for the us department of defense, said on the 28th that the tanker was still on fire and crude oil "appeared" to be leaking. the eu's operation shield fleet, which was sent to the red sea and the gulf to perform escort missions, said on the same day that no crude oil leaks were found.
the houthis identified the sounion as belonging to a company linked to israel on the 22nd. the british maritime trade operations office previously reported that all 25 crew members of the tanker had been successfully rescued by a european union warship.
screenshots of a video released by the houthis on june 26 showed the houthis launching missiles from an unknown location. xinhua news agency
after a new round of israeli-palestinian conflict broke out in october last year, the houthi armed forces demanded that israel stop its military operations in the gaza strip in palestine and use drones and missiles to attack targets in the red sea and the gulf of aden, claiming that the targets were related to israel.
since january 12 this year, the united states and the united kingdom have launched air strikes on houthi targets many times, causing casualties. some countries have condemned the actions of the united states and britain, believing that this move violates yemen's sovereignty and will exacerbate regional tensions.
source | xinhua news agency
