Houthi Mine in Red Sea Kills 3 Egyptian Fishermen

A drone boat captured from Yemen's Houthi rebels that was once loaded with explosives. The rebels have used such boats and mines against shipping in the Red Sea. AP
A drone boat captured from Yemen's Houthi rebels that was once loaded with explosives. The rebels have used such boats and mines against shipping in the Red Sea. AP
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Houthi Mine in Red Sea Kills 3 Egyptian Fishermen

A drone boat captured from Yemen's Houthi rebels that was once loaded with explosives. The rebels have used such boats and mines against shipping in the Red Sea. AP
A drone boat captured from Yemen's Houthi rebels that was once loaded with explosives. The rebels have used such boats and mines against shipping in the Red Sea. AP

Three Egyptian fishermen were killed and others survived when a mine laid by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck their boat in the Red Sea.

A high-ranking official from the Yemeni Armed Forces uncovered that search and investigation operations found that the militias planted more than 300 mines in the Red Sea waters.

Yemeni Army spokesman Brigadier General Abdo Majli told Asharq Al-Awsat Thursday that Iranian-backed Houthis have deliberately planned to threaten maritime navigation and international trade in the regional waters.

He said those militias took advantage of the ceasefire in the past years to plant more than a million mine in areas under their control.

“Those mines are planted without the presence of any maps and are often moved by winds to other locations,” he said.

Majli’s comments coincided with a statement issued by the Arab Coalition on Thursday saying that Houthis continue to sporadically plant sea mines to obstruct navigation and international trade in the southern Red Sea and Bab Al Mandeb, adding that a mine allegedly planted by the Iran-backed militia has been detected in the Red Sea.

The Saudi-led Coalition said: “At 2 am on Thursday, Coalition Naval forces responded to a communication reporting the sinking of a fishing boat in International Waters in the Red Sea as a result of a naval mine explosion.”

It added that six Egyptian fishermen were on board. “We could rescue three of them and the others were killed when the mine exploded.”

The Coalition said the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ continued planting of naval mines is a serious threat to maritime navigation and international trade in the south of the Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

The coalition had found and neutralized 137 mines planted by the Houthis and also intercepted "drone boats" packed with explosives that the rebels have used to target naval vessels and shipping.



UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)

UN officials on Monday asked for $6 billion for Sudan this year from donors to help ease what they called the world's worst ever hunger catastrophe and the mass displacement of people brought on by civil war.

The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40% from last year's for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.

The UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population - looks set to worsen.

World Food Program chief Cindy McCain, speaking via video to a room full of diplomats in Geneva, said: "Sudan is now the epicenter of the world's largest and most severe hunger crisis ever."

She did not provide figures, but Sudan's total population currently stands at about 48 million people. Among previous world famines, the Bengal Famine of 1943 claimed between 2 million and 3 million lives, according to several estimates, while millions are believed to have died in the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61.

Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, a UN statement said, and this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.

"This is a humanitarian crisis that is truly unprecedented in its scale and its gravity and it demands a response unprecedented in scale and intent," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said.

One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.

While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.

The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion - the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.