The Houthi rebels of Yemen They released a video of the cargo ship’s captureGalaxy Leader‘in a military operation carried out on Sunday in the Red Seain which they used a helicopter to land on the ship and take it to the yemeni coasts.
The images, broadcast on television Al Masiraclose to the Houthis, showed how a helicopter painted with the flag of Yemen and of Palestine It landed on the ship, into which a dozen masked combatants armed with assault rifles descended.
Upon inspecting the ship, the assailants entered the cockpit where some were four crewwho raised their arms without resisting when threatened at gunpoint.
After taking control of the ship, about five motorboats guarded the vessel to direct it to an unspecified Yemeni port, according to the images, which did not show scenes of shooting or explicit violence.
The Houthis announced on Sunday the capture of the ship, which they claimed belongs to Israel, and stated that this type of operations are only directed against Israeli flagged or owned ships.
The freighter Galaxy Leaderwhich transported vehicles, is owned by a British company, but is operated by the Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen (NYK Line), which has detailed that its crew was made up at the time of the seizure of 25 sailors of Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Filipino, Mexican and Romanian origin.
The seized ship, which was heading from India Course to Türkiyesailed under the flag of the Bahamas and would be partially owned by the Israeli magnate Rami Ungerwhich would have triggered the operation.
There are two Mexicans on the ship’s crew, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed this Monday.
After the Houthis’ announcement, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, Benjamin Netanyahu“strongly” condemned what it considered “an Iranian attack against an international ship,” but Tehran today rejected these accusations.
For his part, the Japanese government condemned the capture of the cargo ship operated by a Japanese company and called for the release of the 25 sailors on the crew taken hostage in the incident.
The Houthis assured that they will continue with similar operations “against the Israeli enemy until the aggression against the Gaza Strip ceases and the atrocious crimes that continue to this moment cease” both in the Palestinian enclave and in the West Bank.
With information from EFE
