Saudi-led coalition in Yemen destroys bomb-laden unmanned boat in Red Sea: Report

The Saudi-led coalition, fighting a multifaceted war in Yemen, reportedly intercepted and destroyed a remotely-controlled bomb-laden boat in the south of the Red Sea on August 30. Coalition spokesperson Colonel Turki al-Malki said that the Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) was launched by Iran-backed Houthis from Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, according to Saudi’s state news agency SPA.

The spokesperson reportedly accused Houthi militants of blatant violation of the international humanitarian law and the Stockholm Agreement’s ceasefire provisions. According to the SPA, the Joint Forces Command of the coalition claimed that the Houthis are using the port city as a ballistic-missile, bomb-laden UAV, USV launch site, and a point of indiscriminate deployment of naval mines.

“The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will continue to implement all rigorous, deterrent measures against this terrorist militia, and neutralize, destroy such capabilities that pose a threat to regional and international security,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

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Civil war

Yemen has been marred with internal conflicts for years in which the factions are backed by external forces like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In 2015, Saudi Arabia and the UAE intervened in the conflict on request of former Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and the continued fighting has caused disproportionate suffering for the civilians. 

Over 100,000 people have lost their lives in the ongoing civil war and millions depend on international food aid, making it one of the biggest humanitarian crises. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had made an appeal for an immediate global ceasefire fearing a collapse of health systems in war-ravaged countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 27, Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council (STC) declared a state of emergency in Aden and said that it would "self-govern" the key southern port city and other southern provinces. The tensions soared after authorities in five southern provinces rejected the group's claim to self-rule. Later in June, STC seized control of Socotra, a Yemeni island in the Arabian Sea, escalating the tensions between the rival groups.

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