[11/08/2026 05:15]

ADEN – SABA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said on Tuesday that a Houthi attack on the commercial vessel Tahama while transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait represents a new escalation in what it described as a systematic campaign targeting Yemen’s interests, ports, infrastructure and vital supply routes.

In a statement, the ministry said the attack posed a direct threat to the safety of maritime navigation and international trade and resulted in the deaths of four crew members, including three Pakistani nationals and an Indonesian seafarer. Four others were injured, while the vessel sustained material damage and caught fire.

The ministry said the Houthis subsequently launched another missile at the vessel as rescue teams arrived to evacuate the crew and the injured. One member of the rescue team was reportedly wounded in the second attack, which the ministry described as a deliberate assault on a humanitarian rescue operation.

According to the ministry, the incident further demonstrated what it called the Houthis’ disregard for the lives of seafarers and rescue personnel, as well as for international rules and norms governing maritime safety.

The ministry expressed its condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

It said the targeting of a commercial vessel carrying food supplies destined to support the needs of the Yemeni population, just two days after an attack on the port of Mokha and its civilian and economic facilities, provided “further unequivocal evidence” of what it described as the party effectively targeting Yemen’s food supplies, ports, vessels and supply chains.

The ministry accused the Houthis of systematically disrupting commercial and economic activity and worsening Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.

It stressed that humanitarian and economic issues are fundamental rights of the Yemeni people and should not be used as instruments of political coercion or as pretexts for attacks. The ministry further argued that using such issues to advance what it described as the Iranian regime’s agenda of threatening maritime routes and expanding regional escalation serves neither Yemen nor its people, but instead deepens their suffering and threatens regional security and stability.

The ministry said the attack on the Tahama together with previous attacks targeting Marib and Mokha, should not be viewed as isolated incidents. Rather, it described them as part of a broader pattern of threats extending from Yemen’s territory to neighboring countries and key maritime corridors, targeting Yemeni interests, regional security, and the safety of international shipping and trade.

The Republic of Yemen called on the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council and countries concerned with maritime security, to move beyond statements of condemnation and take concrete and deterrent action.

Such measures, the ministry said, should include strict enforcement of UN Security Council resolutions, the sanctions regime and arms embargo, as well as efforts to cut off the Houthis’ sources of financing and arms supplies.

At the same time, Yemen called for increased support for the internationally recognized government and for strengthening the capabilities of the Coast Guard, naval forces and port security agencies. Such support, it said, would enable state institutions to fulfill their sovereign responsibilities in protecting Yemen’s territorial waters and securing the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden.

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