The Saudi-led coalition that is backing Yemen’s internationally recognized government has launched airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebel-controlled capital Sanaa. The attacks on Wednesday morning have destroyed drone warehouses and workshops, Al Jazeera reported citing Saudi state television. The airstrikes are in response to the Houthi’s seizure of a cargo ship sailing under the flag of the United Arab Emirates in the Red Sea near the Yemeni port of Hodeida. The ship is being held, with the crew aboard, in the port of Salif, which is held by the Houthis.
The Saudis say that the Rwabee cargo ship is carrying medical field equipment that was used to operate the Saudi Field Hospital in the Island of Socotra and is returning to Saudi Arabia’s Jazan Port. The Houthis said that the ship was carrying military supplies and was engaged in “hostile acts targeting the security and stability of the Yemeni people.” The Houthis also launched five drones toward Saudi Arabia on Monday, which were intercepted by Saudi air defenses.
The Houthis have been accused in the past of attacking ships in the Red Sea, a busy maritime route. The coalition had called on the Houthis to release the ship and threatened to use force in order to free it.