EU Engaging with Partners to Confront Houthi Threats

Houthi supporters ride a vehicle carrying the coffin of a Houthi fighter, who was killed in recent fighting, during a funeral in Sanaa, Yemen, 16 January 2024. (EPA)
Houthi supporters ride a vehicle carrying the coffin of a Houthi fighter, who was killed in recent fighting, during a funeral in Sanaa, Yemen, 16 January 2024. (EPA)
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EU Engaging with Partners to Confront Houthi Threats

Houthi supporters ride a vehicle carrying the coffin of a Houthi fighter, who was killed in recent fighting, during a funeral in Sanaa, Yemen, 16 January 2024. (EPA)
Houthi supporters ride a vehicle carrying the coffin of a Houthi fighter, who was killed in recent fighting, during a funeral in Sanaa, Yemen, 16 January 2024. (EPA)

The European Union is actively working with its partners to tackle the security threats posed by the Houthi militias in the Red Sea, aiming to find effective solutions to address these challenges.

Luis Miguel Bueno, the EU’s regional media officer for the Middle East and North Africa, stated that EU countries are closely watching the situation in the Red Sea, especially the recent US and British strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization early on Tuesday received a report of an incident in the Red Sea about 57 nautical miles northwest of Eritrea’s Assab.

Vessel and crew were reported safe and are proceeding to their next port after security personnel on the ship “fired warning shots and small craft departed,” UKMTO said in an advisory note according to Reuters.

Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis have stepped up attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea in protest against Israel’s war in Gaza. Various shipping lines have suspended operations, instead taking the longer journey around Africa.

In exclusive remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Bueno stressed that the EU is closely monitoring developments in the Red Sea (Operation Prosperity Guardian), stating that the Houthi attacks are a violation of international law.

Bueno underscored the urgent need to respect UN Security Council Resolution 2722.

He strongly condemned Houthi assaults on commercial ships and crews, stating they pose unacceptable threats to regional maritime security and peace, requiring an international solution.

The diplomat disclosed the EU’s active engagement with partners to counter Houthi threats and find effective solutions.

Ongoing discussions within the EU focus on a coordinated European mission in the Red Sea.

The EU spokesperson declined to provide more details about the planned mission in the Red Sea, saying the information will be shared at the appropriate time.



Iraq: PMF Commemorates Victims of US Airstrike Five Years Ago

A photo of the commemoration published by PMF accounts
A photo of the commemoration published by PMF accounts
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Iraq: PMF Commemorates Victims of US Airstrike Five Years Ago

A photo of the commemoration published by PMF accounts
A photo of the commemoration published by PMF accounts

Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), along with its affiliated factions, marked the fifth anniversary of a US airstrike that targeted Kataib Hezbollah bases in late December 2019.

The commemoration took place amid growing discussions in Iraqi political and public circles regarding the potential restructuring of the PMF and the integration of its members into other military institutions. These talks also include debates about dissolving armed factions associated with the “Axis of Resistance” or the possibility of military strikes against them by Israel.

The US airstrike in December 2019 killed 25 members and wounded 55 others from Kataib Hezbollah, part of the 45th and 46th brigades of the PMF. The strike was in retaliation for an attack on a base in Kirkuk that killed an American soldier.

On this occasion, the PMF and its factions held a “symbolic funeral,” featuring approximately 30 symbolic coffins that were paraded through Baghdad streets, culminating at the Martyr’s Monument east of the capital.

The 2019 airstrike escalated tensions between Washington and the PMF factions. It was followed by violent protests and an attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad by PMF members and affiliated groups. In response, Washington carried out a missile strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force (the external arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy chief of the PMF.

A source close to the PMF and its factions stated: “The symbolic funeral serves as a reminder of the victims of the US airstrike, reflecting the ongoing hostility between the two sides.”

“There is real concern within the PMF factions about what may come next, given the rapidly evolving regional developments and the fractures within the Axis of Resistance,” the source added.

Separately, the State of Law Coalition, led by Nouri al-Maliki, denied reports of forming a new militia.

“There is no truth to the claims that Nouri al-Maliki is forming an armed faction called ‘Sons of the State’,” a source from the State of Law Coalition stated in a press release.

The source added: “Al-Maliki believes in the importance of relying on official state institutions to safeguard the political system. He is a key architect of the state and the law and remains committed to the security framework of the state.”

This denial follows media reports citing Iraqi sources that claimed al-Maliki was planning to establish an armed group named “Sons of the State” to protect the country from potential future threats.