The spokesman for Yemen’s popular Ansarullah resistance movement has praised Yemeni naval forces for seizing a United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo vessel as it was engaged in “hostile acts,” stating that the incident took the Saudi regime and its allies by surprise and caused an intense feeling of fear in them.
“We extend our thanks to Yemeni naval forces for carrying out such a courageous and challenging military operation, which sent a chill down the aggressors’ spine. The seizure conveyed a clear message to them and their sponsors that Yemen can inflict a defeat on them but will not be defeated,” Mohammed Abdulsalam wrote in a post published on his Twitter page.
He added, “The Yemeni nation expects the country’s armed forces, in the wake of this unique operation, to notch up greater achievements in the future.”
On Monday, the spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces said the country’s naval troops, backed by allied fighters from Popular Committees, had managed to seize a UAE-flagged vessel off the port of Hudaydah as it was carrying military equipment and engaging in hostile acts.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree stated that the Yemeni forces and their allies captured the vessel after it trespassed into Yemen’s territorial waters and was acting against the security and stability of the country.
The senior Yemeni military official added that the ship was loaded with various munitions and was seized off the coast of Yemen’s strategic western province of Hudaydah.
Meanwhile, Yemeni military and political affairs expert Brigadier General Abdul Ghani al-Zubaidi told Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television news network that the seizure of the Emirati-flagged vessel debunked the myth of Saudi Arabia’s strategic security.
“In case the UAE opts to show reactions, the course of events will change and our missiles would likely be fired at it. The operation clearly points to the preparedness and great capabilities of the Yemeni Armed Forces as it is an audacious task to detain a military vessel,” Zubaidi said.
He stressed that the capture of the UAE-flagged vessel sent a message to the United States and the Israeli regime, in addition to Riyadh and its allies, and exhibited the fact that the Yemeni armed forces possess great capabilities and can harm anyone who dares to attack Yemen.
Saudi Arabia, backed by the United States and regional allies, launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi back to power and crushing the Ansarullah movement.
The war has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead and displaced millions more. It has also destroyed Yemen’s infrastructure and spread famine and infectious diseases there.
Despite heavily-armed Saudi Arabia’s incessant bombardment of the impoverished country, the Yemeni armed forces and the Popular Committees have grown steadily in strength against the Saudi-led invaders and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the country.