UN Security Council Condemns Houthi Seizure of Israeli-Linked Ship Off Yemen
The UN Security Council on Friday condemned the hijacking of an Israeli-linked vessel in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi group. In a press statement, the members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the seizure of the Galaxy Leader with 25 crew members on board in the Red Sea in mid-November. "They recalled, in this context, the ongoing threats and previous attacks against oil terminals under the control of the government of Yemen. They demanded that all such attacks and action cease immediately," said the statement. The council members called for the immediate release of the vessel and its crew. They underlined the importance of the navigational rights and freedoms of all vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, in accordance with international law, the statement said. The Houthi group vowed to continue attacking Israeli ships in the Red Sea as long as the Israeli war on Gaza continues.
A Yemeni human rights observatory announced on Saturday the documentation of the killing and injury of 15 civilians in Houthi landmine explosions in four Yemeni provinces during November. The Yemen Mine Observatory said in a statement that landmines, ammunition, and projectiles from the remnants of war continue to claim more civilian lives in various areas of Yemen. The observatory stated, "During November, we documented the fall of 15 victims (5 killed and 10 injured) …in five explosion incidents that occurred in four provinces Al-Jawf, Al-Bayda, Taiz, and Al-Hudaydah." The deaths included four children and an elderly man while four women and three children were injured, said the statements. Thousands of landmines have been planted in Yemen since the start of the war in 2015.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari hints that Israel was not behind a blast in Yemen, which some media reports claimed was a strike on a Houthi weapons depot. “Yemen and the Houthis keep the whole region busy, not just Israel, also the US and other Arab countries. Regarding strikes, I can only comment on things related to the IDF, and I will not comment on what the IDF hasn’t done,” he says. He added, “There are other players in the area.”
A recent report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced that more than 5,600 African migrants have voluntarily returned from Yemen to their countries during the current year. The IOM stated in its latest report that the number of migrants who returned voluntarily from Yemen to the Horn of Africa reached 5,688 migrants between January and October of 2023. It added that 92% of the migrants, totaling 5,253 individuals, returned to Djibouti through sea journeys originating from Aden, while 8%, or 435 migrants, returned from the Bir Ali port in Shabwah governorate towards the city of Bosaso in Somalia. The UN organization highlighted that the return of African migrants to their countries is attributed to "increased campaigns conducted by the security agencies in the Yemeni government against illegal migration."
