Yemeni Houthi drones target oil port in Yemen

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed they attacked a cargo ship at an oil terminal in the country’s south as a “warning strike” on Friday. It was the first military action announced by the Iran-backed Houthis since a truce between Yemen's warring sides expired on October 2.

The Houthis said the attack by explosive-laden drones was meant to prevent pro-government forces from using the port for oil exports.

The Yemeni government denounced the attack and said “all options are open in dealing with this terrorist action”. It said the attack could affect any further peace talks.

The government said the strike was the third in recent days by Houthi drones on shipping in their territory after another ship was targeted on Tuesday and Wednesday night in the port of Radoum, in the central part of Yemen’s coast on the Gulf of Aden.

The war in Yemen, between the Houthis and pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition, has raged since 2015. The Houthis occupied northern Yemen and the country’s capital in 2014 and forced the internationally recognized government to flee into exile to Saudi Arabia the following year.

Since then, more than 150,000 people have been killed in the violence and three million have been displaced. Two-thirds of the population requires food assistance. The initial two-month truce agreed on April 2 by the government and the Houthis was extended twice, until October 2.

Since then, both the US and UN have blamed the Houthis for a breakdown in efforts to extend the ceasefire yet again. One of the main obstacles to a truce is the use of Yemen’s resources. The Houthis maintain that oil produced in Yemen should not be allowed to be exported by the cash-strapped government side.