For the First Time: Houthis Target an Oil Port in Hadramout

Reports

Fri, 21-10-2022 09:47 PM, Aden

Aden (South24)

Local sources and officials in Hadramout said that two drones, believed to be affiliated with the Houthis, targeted this afternoon the Dabba oil port, east of Mukalla in Hadramout.

A local source told "South24" that "two explosions were clearly heard in several parts of the city".

According to the source, "the attack occurred simultaneously upon the arrival of an oil tanker called 'NISSOS' to the port to load an oil shipment".

The Governor of Hadramout Bin Madhi accused the Houthis of carrying the attack.

Bin Madhi said in a televised statement that two drones targeted the Dabba port, east of Mukalla, with a nearby oil cargo ship, at 14:05 and 14:20.

Bin Madhi stated that the attack did not cause any damages. He also noted that a similar attack targeted Al-Nashima port in Shabwa governorate two days ago, and no damages were caused.

Bin Madhi noted the attack, that the Houthis were behind, came after threats received by the oil ship which delayed its arrival by a full week.

"The vessel was pushed away to 12 nautical miles outside the port and we stopped pumping oil from Petromasila The port was evacuated from staff We are making security arrangements to enter the vessel to resume work," the governor said.

The governor said the source of the attack and the threats were the Houthis and added: "According to the preliminary report, the site of the attack was between the governorates of Marib and Al-Bayda".

The Houthis later claimed responsibility for the attack. A statement by the group, which was published by Al-Masirah channel, said the attack was a "warning" message to prevent the "looting" of oil.

On October 2nd, the Houthis threatened to target oil companies operating in Yemen if they continued to transport oil abroad.

The Houthis military spokesman tweeted that they will issue an important statement in the upcoming hours.

The Yemeni government announced that all options are open for responding to the attack, according to a statement published by Saba news agency.

For their part, the STC said that "condemnation is no longer enough... We reserve the right to respond to the Houthis' escalations".

This Houthis attack was the first in the coast of Hadramout and the first since the UN truce was declared on April 2nd, which ended on October 2nd following the Houthis' refusal to extend it.

This step would complicate Yemen's peace efforts and hinder international endeavors to extend and expand the truce as well as push for renewing the conflict.