Yemenis Accuse Houthis of Targeting Red Sea Shipping Following Iranian “Directives”
(AWP) - Yemenis in the western Yemen province of Al Hudaydah complain of “tough living standards” exacerbated by Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.
Yemeni officials spoke to the Arab World Press (AWP) about the immense suffering endured by Yemeni people due to the Houthis’ deliberate targeting of global navigation. Meanwhile, the group imposes restrictions on the movement of Yemenis inside their own country, claiming to support the Palestinians and defending Gaza, which has been under an Israeli war for more than three months.
Walid al-Qadimi, the deputy governor of Al Hudaydah, said, “The threats in the Red Sea posed by the terrorist Houthi militias, which claim to be supporting the Palestinian brothers and the Palestinian cause, have turned Yemen into a military confrontation zone for propaganda purposes that have nothing to do with supporting Palestine.”
He claimed, “This is taking place only upon directives from Iran to destabilize the region’s security, target the Red Sea, and disrupt the global trade route.”
He added that if the Houthi militias were sincere, they should first open the roads and ports for the people of Yemen before they go to support the Palestinians.
“We hold the terrorist Houthi militias responsible for the consequences of the ongoing attacks against the Yemeni people today,” Qadmi warned.
Brigadier Mohamed Maarouf said the Houthis are “hindering the sailors, ships, citizens, women and men,” adding that the group is harming both citizens and military commanders.
He said, “They want to engage in a war with Western countries as if they were a state. But they are militias, and everyone knows that they are militias. They just seek to portray themselves as supporting the Palestinian cause, but it’s all a lie. We support the Palestinian issue, but these [Houthis] are mercenaries and agents for Iran.”
Asked about the latest U.S. strikes against the Houthis, Maarouf replied that these strikes came in response to the Houthis’ assaults on the Red Sea and ships.
“This is only serving Iran’s interests and the citizens in Yemen are suffering because of the Houthis. Even those citizens in areas under Houthi control are suffering and pray to God to be rescued,” he explained.
The United States and Britain have recently conducted airstrikes against Houthi military targets in several provinces, including Sanaa.