Aden (agencies)
The commander of the European Union’s Operation in the Red Sea “ASPEDS”, Vassilios Gribaris, said that the naval force deployed by the Union to protect ships in the Red Sea needs “more than double the number”, due to the escalation of attacks by the “Houthi” group in Yemen.
At the same time, the group carried out a massive kidnapping campaign in the Ibb and Dhamar governorates. Four European Union ships have been patrolling the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen since last February, within the framework of the “ASPEDS” mission, which is separate from the “Guardian of Prosperity” mission led by the United States in the region, but they cooperate and exchange intelligence information.
Greparis said, in an interview with Bloomberg, that during this period, the ships of the European Union operation provided “close assistance” to 164 ships in the Red Sea region, shot down more than 12 drones, and destroyed 4 anti-ship ballistic missiles launched by the “Houthis.” He added that the threats launched by the Houthi group, last month, against commercial ships led to “exacerbating the risks facing maritime shipping companies.” The Houthis began attacking ships last year, and their attacks destabilized global shipping traffic, as many ships were forced to sail thousands of miles around South Africa, despite Operation Aspids, and the American and British bombing that began on areas under their control last January. Greparis said: “We do not have a lot of soldiers and equipment, and the area that we have to cover is enormous,” stressing that he is putting pressure “on all member states to provide more soldiers and equipment.”
Last week, the Houthis hit the Tutor ship, which was carrying a shipment of coal, with a drone, which led to the fall of a Filipino crew member, and the ship subsequently sank.
The current mandate for Operation Aspids expires in February 2025, although Greparis said he expects it to be extended.
In another context, the Houthi group carried out a massive kidnapping campaign targeting Yemeni citizens in Al-Sayyani District in Ibb Governorate, in conjunction with another kidnapping campaign in Al-Haddah District in Dhamar. In Ibb, a Yemeni human rights source reported that crews belonging to the Houthi group took dozens of people from the village of Al-Runa to an unknown destination.
Meanwhile, 20 civilians were kidnapped from Al-Haddah District in Dhamar Governorate. A local source confirmed that leaders from the group launched a campaign that stormed the villages of Bani Abu Atef and Bani Jaala, where they kidnapped the twenty people. These kidnappings came in conjunction with a siege imposed by the Houthi group on the same villages, against the backdrop of the death of a member of the group.
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