Cargo Ship Hit in Bab al-Mandab as Yemen Enforces Navigation Ban

By Staff, Agencies

A cargo ship was targeted by the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) in the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Tuesday, leaving three crew members dead, according to two Yemeni coast guard sources and two military officials affiliated with the Aden government cited by Reuters.

Maritime security sources told Reuters the strike is believed to have occurred in the Red Sea, while the whereabouts of the remaining crew members remain unknown.

The reported operation comes after the Yemeni Armed Forces announced in July a navigation ban on vessels departing from or bound for Saudi Arabia.

YAF said the measure was part of its "blockade for blockade" policy in response to the blockade imposed on Yemen by the Saudi-led aggression coalition for nearly 12 years.

The navigation restrictions were announced amid continued tensions over maritime traffic in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

In July, the Yemeni Armed Forces said the measures targeting Saudi-linked vessels were intended as a response to the restrictions imposed on Yemen.

The latest reported strike comes against the backdrop of the long-running blockade on Yemen since the start of the Saudi-led war.

On August 9, 2016, the Saudi-led aggression coalition imposed a comprehensive closure of Yemeni airspace, shutting down Sanaa International Airport to commercial flights and contributing to what has become one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.