Qatar strongly condemns Houthi detention of UAE ship
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly condemned the detention of an Emirati ship off the coast of Al Hudaydah province in western Yemen.
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In a statement, the Qatari foreign ministry called for the immediate release of the ship and its crew, the official WAM news agency reported.
The statement stressed the State of Qatar’s total rejection of actions that would hinder the movement of ships and tankers and the freedom of international navigation, stressing the need to abide by international conventions and laws governing navigation worldwide.
The statement reflects the relatively improved relations between the UAE and Qatar, which have been slower to progress than the Saudi-Qatari relations, or Egyptian-Qatari relations.
In June 2017, Qatar was boycotted by four Arab countries; the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, accusing it of destabilizing and supporting extremist groups.
Last January, the four countries reconciled with Qatar at the al-Ula Summit.
The Saudi-led Arab coalition on Monday accused Houthi of piracy, kidnapping and hijacking a ship flying the Emirati flag, saying it was on a maritime mission from the Yemeni island of Socotra to the port of Jizan in southern Saudi Arabia.
The Houthi group said the vessel was seized and transferred to the Yemeni port of Salif.
Yahya Sarie, a Houthi military spokesman, presented photos at a press conference, saying: “It belonged to the captured UAE cargo ship, with weapons, armored vehicles, and gunboats on board”.
The Houthi military spokesman warned that the group has the right options to respond to any escalation by the Saudi-led Arab coalition, adding: “Our appropriate options are on its way to becoming a reality, and everything we will do in the framework of legitimate defense”.
