French Frigate Downs Drones Over Red Sea

 A French frigate - File photo by AFP
A French frigate - File photo by AFP
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French Frigate Downs Drones Over Red Sea

 A French frigate - File photo by AFP
A French frigate - File photo by AFP

A French frigate shot down two drones in the Red Sea that were heading towards it from the coast of Yemen, the French military said on Sunday.

"The interception and destruction of these two identified threats" were carried out late Saturday by the frigate Languedoc, which operates in the Red Sea, the general staff said in a press release.

The interceptions happened at 2030 GMT and 2230 GMT, it added, and were 110 km (68 miles) from the Yemeni coast, AFP reported.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on Saturday threatened to attack any vessels heading to Israeli ports unless food and medicine were allowed into the besieged Gaza Strip.

The latest warning comes amid heightened tensions in the Red Sea and surrounding waters following a series of maritime attacks by Houthis since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.

An American destroyer shot down three drones last week while providing assistance to commercial ships in the Red Sea targeted by attacks from Yemen, according to Washington, which denounced "a direct threat" to maritime security.



Türkiye Tells Germany Kurdish Militant Groups Must Lay Down Arms

20 December 2024, Türkiye, Ankara: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock shakes hands with her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan ahead of their meeting in Ankara. (dpa)
20 December 2024, Türkiye, Ankara: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock shakes hands with her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan ahead of their meeting in Ankara. (dpa)
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Türkiye Tells Germany Kurdish Militant Groups Must Lay Down Arms

20 December 2024, Türkiye, Ankara: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock shakes hands with her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan ahead of their meeting in Ankara. (dpa)
20 December 2024, Türkiye, Ankara: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock shakes hands with her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan ahead of their meeting in Ankara. (dpa)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his visiting German counterpart Annalena Baerbock on Friday that it is essential for Kurdish militant groups including the PKK and YPG to lay down arms and dissolve, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said.

Ankara considers the YPG, which has fought for years in Syria alongside US troops, to be an extension of the PKK, which fights against the Turkish state and is banned as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the EU and United States.

Turkish forces and their Syrian allies have clashed with a YPG-led alliance in Syria since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad this month.