Yemen: UAE ship attacked off Yemeni coast June 14

Event

The Saudi-led coalition has announced that Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a missile targeting a United Arab Emirates ship off the Yemeni coast on Wednesday, June 14. The ship, which had left the Yemeni port of Al-Mokha, was not damaged but one crew member was injured.  The Houthi rebels issued a statement claiming that they had attacked a warship belonging to the Saudi-led military coalition that was "engaged in hostile acts" in the Al-Mokha coastal region.

Context

Houthi rebels control the western port of Hodeida, located near the attack site, and have carried out a number of attacks on Saudi navy patrols and other ships over the past six months. The latest incident occurred on May 31, when an oil tanker came under attack off Yemen’s coast.

Yemen is engaged in a complex and deadly conflict, ongoing since Houthi rebels entered into a civil war with the coalition-backed government in 2015. Rebels have regularly reported bombings on their positions in the capital Sana'a. Clashes have also occurred elsewhere, especially around Taiz. Recently, the United Nations (UN) humanitarian aid office in Yemen announced that the civilian death toll in the nearly two-year long conflict has reached 10,000 people, with another 40,000 wounded, and ten million in need of urgent assistance.

Advice

Due to poor security conditions, many Western governments strongly advise their citizens against all travel to Yemen. Travel to the country should only be considered with proper security protocols in place.