[02/06/2017 07:50]

ADEN-SABA

The Yemeni government condemned strongly the rebel militia's repeated terrorist acts undermining the safety of international shipping in the Red Sea, the last of which was the attack by RPGs against a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker off Bab al-Mandab strait Wednesday.

In a statement, of which Saba got a copy, the government said: "This operation comes in the context of similar operations conducted by the Iran-backed Houthi-Saleh coup militia with a view to harm Yemen's interests by targeting the international shipping and passing vessels in the international waters near the Yemeni territorial waters."

"While condemning such terrorist practices, the government rests more assured that its decision to drive the militias out of the Yemeni coasts in cooperation with Saudi-led coalition is right. For the militia proved that it is a real threat not to Yemen alone, but to the international peace and security, mainly in the international waters."

The statement recalled a history of similar attacks by the same militia, namely an attack on a UAE cargo ship and two US destroyers late last year, and an attack on a Saudi frigate early this year.

"However versatile their modus operandi might be, the coup groups' objective remains the same: Triggering turmoil; setting fire in Yemen and in neighboring countries; and damaging the international trade, to fulfill malignant regional agendas well known to everybody. Yemeni is intended to serve as a launch pad in this."

The government called on the international community to "understand the need - that is now more than dire – to purge the Red Sea port of Hodeidah and the rest coastal areas from the presence of the Houthi-Saleh rebel militia, for security, economic and humanitarian purposes."

The coup forces, the government said, are militias with extra-national agendas, they regard the laws, customs and charters, both local and international, with not respect at all. This makes their posed threat to everybody a multiplied one."

An informed government source said the latest attack was deliberate, repeated and dangerous terrorist act that requires an urgent international action to put an end to it according to the international maritime conventions and laws. "The government and the Saudi-led Arab coalition put maritime safety in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab strait on their priorities."

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