Aden (Al-Ittihad)
The Crisis Cell formed by the Yemeni government to deal with the “Rubimar” crisis announced the sinking of the ship off the Yemeni coast, after two attacks by the Houthi group, warning of an environmental catastrophe in the territorial waters, the Sea and the Red Sea.
The cell expressed its regret over the sinking of the ship, which will cause an environmental catastrophe in the Yemeni territorial waters, the Sea and the Red Sea, stressing that the result was expected after the ship left its fate for more than 12 days and did not respond to the Yemeni government’s appeals to avoid the disaster caused by the Houthis, according to what was published by the news agency. Official “Sheba”.
The cell held the Houthi group responsible for the environmental disaster, and the repercussions of its continued targeting of shipping ships and international shipping lines on the humanitarian situation in Yemen and the countries of the region, and the threat to international peace and security.
It also called on the international community to assume its responsibilities in resolutely dealing with terrorist threats, preserving the safety of global navigation, and the supply of basic goods that save the lives of millions of people in the region.
The cell confirmed that it is in permanent session to study the next steps and determine the best ways to deal with the repercussions and address the environmental disaster resulting from the accident.
But the Maritime Security Agency, UKMTO, which is run by the British forces, said in a report yesterday: “The stern of the ship has sunk, while its bow remains above the surface of the water.”
In response to a question about whether the ship had actually sunk, the CEO of Blue Fleet, which operated the ship, Roy Khoury, replied: “We have no idea. We have no one on board the ship to confirm whether this is true or not.”
Yesterday, the Yemeni Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it was surprised that the vicinity of the stricken British ship off the coast of Mokha was subjected to a new Houthi air strike, targeting the boat of Yemeni fishermen, which led to the death and loss of some fishermen.
It also stated that the Houthis' targeting of the stranded ship again complicated rescue efforts and endeavors, and now threatens a large-scale environmental catastrophe, noting that leaving the ship to its fate will lead to serious damage to the marine environment and hundreds of thousands of Yemenis who depend on marine fishing, in addition to the damage that may reach To seawater desalination plants along the Yemeni coast.
The Houthis targeted the ship “Rubimar”, which flies the Belize flag, with one of two ballistic missiles, on February 19, which led to an oil spill at sea 18 miles long, amid fears of toxic substances leaking from the ship's cargo of 41,000 tons of fertilizer.
Meanwhile, American forces destroyed a surface-to-air missile that the Houthis were preparing to launch after it posed an “imminent threat” to an American aircraft, according to what the US Central Command in the Middle East (Centcom) said yesterday. Since January 12, American and British forces have launched strikes on Houthi sites inside Yemen in an attempt to deter them.
Yesterday afternoon, “US forces carried out a self-defense strike targeting a Houthi surface-to-air missile that was prepared for launch,” Centcom said, adding that it “determined that the missile represented an imminent threat to an American aircraft in the region.”
The statement added that yesterday evening, the Houthis fired an anti-ship missile towards the Red Sea, “but it did not hit any ship and did not cause any damage.”
At the end of last week, American and British forces carried out strikes on 18 Houthi targets in eight locations in Yemen, which included weapons storage facilities, attack drones, air defense systems, radars, and a helicopter, according to a joint statement.
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