Yemen’s Houthis have been targeting merchant ships transiting the Red Sea with drones and missiles since November. In addition, the Houthis have hijacked one large cargo ship, which is now anchored off the coast of northern Yemen.
of The Wall Street Journal according to the editorial Houthi ship attacks are the most significant threat to world shipping in decades.
The Red Sea and the Suez Canal are for world shipping an important isthmus. According to various estimates, around 10–15 percent of ship traffic passes through them. Almost a third of container ships use the route.
In this article, we will tell you what the attacks are about and what other countries are doing to stop them.
1. Who are the Houthis?
After almost a decade of civil war, Yemen is a divided country.
The northern part of Yemen and the capital Sanaa are controlled by the so-called Houthi rebels. The name comes from the one killed in 2004 From Hussein al-Houthiwho was a member of parliament and a leader of the people’s movement.
It is about an armed protest movement of Shia Muslims, whose official name is the Defenders of God. Its support area is a remote area of northern Yemen, whose residents have felt that they have been left out of Yemen’s development.
The two main branches of Muslims are Sunni and Shia. The division is stark in Yemen. Shiites are the majority in northern Yemen and receive support from their religious brothers in Iran.
Sunni Muslims, on the other hand, inhabit the southern part of Yemen. They get support from Saudi Arabia, where the majority of residents are Sunni. Saudi Arabia is pushing Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which controls part of southern Yemen.
The Houthis have fought not only against the southern government, but also against Saudi Arabia. In addition, the Houthis consider Israel and the United States to be their enemies.
With Iran’s support, the Houthis are currently the strongest party in Yemen. Despite Saudi support, the Yemeni government remained the underdog in the war. There are also other armed groups in the country.
Peace negotiations are ongoing, but armed incidents have mostly stopped. The UN estimates that already two years ago About 377,000 people had died in Yemen’s civil war and the famine it caused.
2. Why do the Houthis attack ships in the Red Sea?
According to the Houthis, the attacks are a countermeasure to Israel’s attack on Gaza. With the civil war in Yemen, the Houthis control their territory almost like an independent state and have declared war on Israel.
The Houthis have attempted to send drones and launch missiles at Israel, but they have been repelled or caused no damage.
According to the Houthis, everything Items related to Israel are acceptable targets in war. As for shipping, the Houthis say they will only attack ships owned by Israel or sailing towards Israeli ports.
However, the official reason for the attacks is not necessarily the real reason.
– The Houthis have not organized rocket attacks to help the Palestinians, as they claim in their propaganda, but it is maintaining the conflict in Yemen now that peace negotiations have progressed between it and the Saudis, estimates the director of the Finnish Middle East Institute Susanne Dahlgren To by email.
Dahlgren knows the situation in Yemen quite well. He characterizes the Houthi regime as a “ministry of war” that needs conflict to stay in power.
3. What are the consequences of strikes?
Because of the attacks, more and more cargo ships operating between Asia and Europe are avoiding the shortest route via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
An alternative is to tour the entire African continent. It lengthens the route by about a third, which increases freight costs.
Shipping a container from China to the Mediterranean, for example, cost more than $2,400 on December 19. According to the company Freightos, which operates the international freight payment platform, the price had risen by 44 percent since the beginning of December.
We are still far from the peak prices of ship cargo during the corona pandemic, but the safety problems are visible to consumers as higher prices and delays. Among other things, Ikea has warned about delivery delays.
4. How are ship attacks countered?
As a precaution, some shipping companies have started placing armed guards on their ships passing through the Red Sea. Some ships have turned off the ship identification and location system to make it more difficult for attackers to find the ships.
However, the means of the shipping companies are low, and therefore the Western countries are ready to stop the attacks by force.
Works in the sea areas surrounding the Middle East A joint naval operation of 39 countries, whose purpose is to control maritime safety. It was founded in 2001 and is managed from Bahrain.
A smaller international special unit has been launched under the operation, Operation Prosperity Guardian, which aims to secure freedom of navigation specifically in the Red Sea. According to the United States, more than 20 countries participate in the activity.
At least some of the coalition’s ships are already in the Red Sea. Both British and American warships have already shot down drones used by the Houthis in attacks.
Among other things The Bloomberg news agency says Based on anonymous sources in the US administration, that the US and its allies are planning a military strike against the Houthis.
In addition, the EU operates around the Horn of Africa Operation Atalantawhich was established in 2008 to protect merchant ships from Somali pirates.
Reuters, AP, AFP