Yemeni rebel drones target oil ship in government-run port

SANAA, Yemen — Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels said they targeted a cargo ship Friday off an oil terminal in the war-wrecked Arab country’s south to prevent their rivals, the pro-government forces, from using it for oil exports.

The statement was the first announced military action since a truce between the country’s warring sides expired earlier earlier this month.

The Houthis said the attack in the port of Dabba, in Yemen’s eastern province of Hadramawt province, was a “warning strike.” The territory is controlled by the country’s internationally recognized government.

War has raged since 2014 in Yemen between the Houthi rebels and pro-government forces, backed by a coalition of Sunni Gulf Arab states.

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

It also said Friday’s 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.

Hadramawt’s governor, Mabkhout bin Madi, said Friday’s attack involved two drone strikes — hours apart — very close to the vessel, which he said was Greek-owned. The ship and crew were unharmed and the vessel has since sailed to a safe location.

Bin Madi said there were plans for the ship to return to port to load its oil cargo.

The Iran-backed Houthis swept down from the mountains in 2014, occupied northern Yemen and the country’s capital, Sanaa, and forced the internationally recognized government to flee into exile to Saudi Arabia.

Since then, more than 150,000 people have been killed in the violence and 3 million have been displaced. Two-thirds of the population receives food assistance.

The initial, two-month truce agreed to on April 2 by the government and the Houthis was extended twice, until Oct. 2. Since then, both the United States and the United Nations have blamed the Houthis for a breakdown in efforts to extend the cease-fire 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.