Shipping companies abandon Red Sea routes over Houthi attacks

British destroyer HMS Diamond has shot down a suspected "attack drone targeting merchant shipping in the Red Sea" during the night from Friday to Saturday.

The Houthis have warned that they will target ships sailing off the coast of Yemen and with links to Israel, in response to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

In recent weeks, several missiles and drones have been shot down by American and French warships patrolling the area.

The United Kingdom announced at the end of November the dispatch of the warship HMS Diamond to the Gulf to respond to "growing concerns" on the security of maritime trade routes in the area.

Danish shipping giant Maersk on Friday ordered its ships to no longer pass through the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait "until further notice" after new attacks.

The German shipowner Hapag-Lloyd also announced on Friday that it was suspending crossings of its container ships on the Red Sea at least until Monday after the attack on the Red Sea. one of its ships by the Houthis.

This political-military movement, which controls a large part of Yemen, belongs, like Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, to what they call "the axis of resistance" against Israel, supported by Iran.

 

Source: euronews.com