Yemen's Houthis accuse Saudi-led coalition of diverting fuel ship
Earlier this week, the Houthis seized an Emirati-flagged vessel that it claimed was a military cargo ship, but which the Saudi-led coalition said was delivering medical supplies.
Yemen’s Houthis accused the Saudi-led military coalition on Wednesday of diverting a fuel ship bound for the rebel-held port of Hodeidah as the coalition carried out airstrikes in the Houthi-controlled capital of Sanaa.
The Yemen Petroleum Company said the coalition was now holding a total of five fuel ships, each of which received UN clearances to reach Yemen. There was no immediate comment from the coalition.
Saudi Arabia, which intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 on behalf of the internationally recognized government, contends that its air, sea and land blockade on Houthi-controlled territory is needed to prevent arms from reaching the Iran-aligned rebels.
Commercial imports into Houthi-held parts of Yemen are subject to layers of inspection and verification mechanisms that are carried out by the UN, the Saudi-led coalition and the internationally recognized Yemeni government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
