2 ships damaged by Houthi drone and missile attacks in Red Sea

 Two commercial ships were damaged during attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea on Tuesday. (File/AFP)
Two commercial ships were damaged during attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea on Tuesday. (File/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 30 sec ago
Follow

2 ships damaged by Houthi drone and missile attacks in Red Sea

 Two commercial ships were damaged during attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea on Tuesday. (File/AFP)
  • Attacks mark end of a lull lasting nearly a month in the militia’s attacks on international shipping in Red Sea and other waters off Yemen

AL-MUKALLA: Two commercial ships were damaged during attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea on Tuesday. The Yemeni militia said it also targeted military sites in Israel with five drones in support of Palestine and Lebanon.

UK Maritime Trade Operations, an agency that monitors incidents at sea, said it received an alert on Tuesday morning from a ship 64 miles northwest of the west-coast Yemeni city of Hodeidah saying a drone hit the vessel, puncturing a port ballast tank. The ship’s master said he also observed four splashes close to the vessel, the crew is safe and the vessel is heading to its next port of call.

Also on Tuesday morning, the agency said the master of another ship, located 97 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah, reported a missile strike that caused damage but the crew was safe.

The ship in the first incident was identified as the Panamanian-flagged crude oil tanker Cordelia Moon, which was traveling from India to an unknown location. The Houthis claim to be targeting international shipping with links to Israel, the US or the UK in support of the Palestinian people, but details of the vessel on ship-tracking websites such as www.marinetraffic.com showed no obvious connection with those countries.

Information on TankerTrackers.com, an oil shipment tracking service, indicated the ship did not have any oil on board when attacked. In a message posted on social media network X, the website wrote: “Cordelia Moon is currently empty after delivering a million barrels of Russian crude oil to India. The fact that she’s empty makes her MORE explosive (remember Pablo?) as well as a more attainable target due to her increased height above sea level.”

The Pablo was an empty oil tanker that exploded in the Malaysian waters shortly after making a delivery last year.

The Joint Maritime Information Center confirmed the Cordelia Moon had been attacked by missiles and a drone and sustained damage but did not require assistance.

“JMIC assesses that (the ship) was likely targeted due to affiliations within the vessel’s operational structure,” the organization said.

The other targeted ship was a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier heading from Oman toward the Suez Canal.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised statement on Tuesday that the militia attacked the “British” oil tanker Cordelia Moon with eight ballistic missiles, an unmanned aerial vehicle and a drone boat. He said the militia also attacked a ship called Marathopolis twice in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea with a missile and a drone for violating a Houthi ban on sailing to Israel.

The Houthis also said on Tuesday that they targeted a military site in the Israeli capital, Tel Aviv, with a drone and launched four drones at similar targets in the Red Sea city of Eilat.

Sarea said the attacks against Israel were “in triumph for the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples, and in support of the valiant Palestinian and Lebanese resistance.”

The attacks at sea on Tuesday marked the end of a lull lasting nearly a month in the militia’s attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and other waters off the coast of Yemen.

Since November, the Houthis have seized one commercial ship and kidnapped its crew, sunk two others, and launched hundreds of ballistic missiles, drones and drone boats at commercial and naval vessels in international shipping lanes.

They say the aim of their terror campaign is to put pressure on Israel to end its war in Gaza, and that they only attack ships linked to Israel, bound for the country, or with parent companies that do business with Israeli ports.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate said on Tuesday that Abdo Mused Al-Mudan, a journalist held by the Houthis, has been moved to the intensive care unit at a hospital in Sanaa after his health deteriorated at a militia detention facility.

Al-Mudan was one of more than 400 people abducted from their homes or the streets by the Houthis last week for commemorating the anniversary of the Sept. 26, 1962, revolution or encouraging others to do so.

The syndicate said his health deteriorated as a result of mistreatment by his captors and poor conditions at the detention facility, raising concerns about the health of other journalists and activists held by the Houthis.

“The syndicate renews its demand for the immediate release of all journalists detained by the Houthi group, as well as all prisoners of conscience arrested since the beginning of last September,” the organization said.

Despite growing condemnation of their crackdown on those who celebrated the anniversary of the revolution, the Houthis refuse to release the detainees, accusing them of being US stooges who are undermining security in areas under the militia’s control in an attempt to put pressure on them to halt the attacks on international shipping.


UN chief calls for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon

UN chief calls for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon
Updated 44 min 49 sec ago
Follow

UN chief calls for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon

UN chief calls for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon
  • “An all-out war must be avoided in Lebanon at all costs,” Dujarric said

UNITED NATIONS: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed on Tuesday for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country to be respected, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
“An all-out war must be avoided in Lebanon at all costs,” Dujarric said in a statement, adding that Guterres spoke with Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati earlier on Tuesday, telling him the UN was ready to help those in need.
“The Secretary-General will continue his contacts, and his representatives on the ground will also continue their efforts to de-escalate the situation,” Dujarric said.


Turkiye working with 20 countries in Lebanon evacuation preparations

Passengers disembark a Bulgarian government evacuation flight from Lebanon at Sofia airport on September 30, 2024. (AFP)
Passengers disembark a Bulgarian government evacuation flight from Lebanon at Sofia airport on September 30, 2024. (AFP)
Updated 01 October 2024
Follow

Turkiye working with 20 countries in Lebanon evacuation preparations

Passengers disembark a Bulgarian government evacuation flight from Lebanon at Sofia airport on September 30, 2024. (AFP)
  • Foreign Ministry said a coordination center had been set up to handle evacuation requests in line with the plans made by Turkish institutions

ANKARA: Turkiye is ready to carry out a possible evacuation of Turks from Lebanon via air and sea, and is working with around 20 countries on preparing for a possible evacuation of foreign nationals via Turkiye, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
It said the security conditions in Lebanon could deteriorate, as Israel launched a ground incursion into south Lebanon, and added a coordination center had been set up to handle evacuation requests in line with the plans made by Turkish institutions.
“The guidelines for the evacuation of foreign nationals via our country have also been set, the necessary preparations are being carried out with around 20 countries that have requested support so far,” it said. 


Iranian attack on Israel may be at least as big as one in April, US official says

Iranian attack on Israel may be at least as big as one in April, US official says
Updated 01 October 2024
Follow

Iranian attack on Israel may be at least as big as one in April, US official says

Iranian attack on Israel may be at least as big as one in April, US official says
  • Iran appeared to be preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel

WASHINGTON: Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel could be as big or potentially bigger than the one in April, if it goes ahead, although that assessment is based on initial indications and it is difficult to be certain, a US official told Reuters on Tuesday.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters earlier on Tuesday that Iran appeared to be preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel.


Israel carries out strikes in Beirut, southern suburbs, sources say

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP)
Updated 01 October 2024
Follow

Israel carries out strikes in Beirut, southern suburbs, sources say

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP)
  • A high-rise building was hit in the city’s Jnah area, the sources said

BEIRUT: Israel carried out two attacks on Beirut on Tuesday afternoon, striking the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital and the city’s southern entrance, two security sources said.
A high-rise building was hit in the city’s Jnah area, the sources said.
The Israeli military said it was targeting the Lebanese capital and had carried out a “precise strike.”


Tunisia presidential candidate Zammel sentenced to 12 years in prison

Tunisia presidential candidate Zammel sentenced to 12 years in prison
Updated 01 October 2024
Follow

Tunisia presidential candidate Zammel sentenced to 12 years in prison

Tunisia presidential candidate Zammel sentenced to 12 years in prison
  • It was the third prison sentence imposed on Ayachi Zammel in two weeks
  • Zammel, head of the opposition Azimoun party, has been jailed since last month

TUNIS: A Tunisian court sentenced presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel to 12 years in prison on Tuesday, amid growing opposition anger against President Kais Saied, whose critics accuse him of using the judiciary to sideline his opponents.

It was the third prison sentence imposed on Zammel in two weeks, just five days before the presidential election in which he is one of just two candidates permitted to stand against Saied. Three other high profile opposition figures were barred.

Abdessattar Massoudi, Zammel’s lawyer, said that Zammel was sentenced to 12 years in prison by Tunis court on charges of document falsification. Massoudi described the verdict as “unfair and a farce.”

Zammel, head of the opposition Azimoun party, has been jailed since last month on charges of falsifying voter signatures on his candidacy paperwork, accusations he described as manufactured by Saied’s government. He has been allowed to continue to stand in the election while jailed.

Political tensions in the North African country have risen ahead of the Oct. 6 election since an electoral commission named by Saied disqualified three other prominent candidates last month, amid protests by opposition and civil society groups.

Tunisia was the only Arab country to emerge with a peaceful democracy from the 2011 “Arab Spring” protests against autocratic rulers across the Middle East and North Africa.

But since being elected in 2019, Saied has gradually amassed greater powers, arguing that he needs them to combat a corrupt elite. He dissolved the elected parliament and began ruling by decree in 2021, a move the opposition described as a coup.

The electoral commission has rejected a ruling by Tunisia’s administrative court to reinstate the barred candidates for the upcoming election. Lawmakers loyal to Saied then approved a law stripping the administrative court of authority over election disputes.

The opposition and civil society groups called for a mass protest on Friday against what they describe as Saied’s authoritarian rule, and said they would continue escalation and demonstrations.