U.N. mission says it spoke to crew members from Emirati vessel seized by Houthis

A view of a ship seized by Yemen’s Houthi rebels off the Yemen’s Red Sea coast in a frame grab from video handed out by the Houthi’s media center on January 3, 2022. Houthi Media Office/Handout via Reuters

CAIRO, Jan 12 (Reuters) – A United Nations mission said on Wednesday it has spoken to crew members from an Emirati vessel that was seized by the Yemeni Houthi movement earlier this month.

“As part of its routine weekly patrol, (the UN Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement) visited As-Salif port and neighbouring areas this afternoon. The patrol team saw the RWABEE vessel from a distance and spoke to its crew members,” the mission said on Twitter.

Yemen’s Houthis say the Emirati cargo vessel that they seized in the Red Sea had been carrying military hardware, but the Saudi-led coalition, fighting the Iranian-aligned Houthis, says the ship had been carrying medical equipment.

Reporting by Ahmad Elhamy

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