Yemeni Minister Says Houthis Exploiting Safer Tanker to Blackmail Int’l Community

The Safer Oil Tanker sailing off Hodeidah, Yemen
The Safer Oil Tanker sailing off Hodeidah, Yemen
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Yemeni Minister Says Houthis Exploiting Safer Tanker to Blackmail Int’l Community

The Safer Oil Tanker sailing off Hodeidah, Yemen
The Safer Oil Tanker sailing off Hodeidah, Yemen

The Yemeni Minister of Water and Environment, Tawfiq al-Sharjabi, warned of a possible disaster in the Red Sea because of a possible spill from the Safer oil tanker.

Sharjabi accused the Houthi militias of using the floating tank off the coast of Hodeidah Governorate to blackmail the international community, thus threatening regional and local marine life and the lives of millions of people.

The Minister’s remarks came during the ninth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention, "Water and Peace" held at the UN headquarters in Geneva.

Sharjabi explained that the explosion of the tanker loaded with more than 1.1 million barrels of oil could affect 8,523 water points from water wells, polluting them along with many river valleys of at least 500 km.

The Minister reviewed the national plan for implementing the agreement and the challenges facing his country to achieve water security.

He highlighted the importance of protecting civil water infrastructure from being targeted, and working to make water a part of peace and agreements between residents of the same country or between regional countries.

He pointed out that water facilities have been targeted at least 180 times in Yemen, the Gaza Strip, Syria, and Libya since 2011.

The Minister pinpointed the daily suffering of the people displaced and those of host communities in Yemen due to the Houthi coup militia's war and its targeting of water infrastructure, maintenance, and delivery.

“Because of the circumstances, most of the water needs are covered by tanker trucks, the price of which has increased due to war, the rise in fuel prices, and the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. In most cases, this water is not monitored which makes women, girls and children the most affected by these conditions,” said Sharjabi.

The Minister pointed out that the Houthi militia control water resources in the cities with a high population density, such as Taiz, which is already suffering from water scarcity.

The militia does not hesitate to use water as a weapon in its war to pressure the population and blackmail the legitimate government.

The Minister called on the international community to ensure that water, environmental issues, and climate change are prioritized in the global peacebuilding agenda.

He urged a "do no harm" approach when designing and implementing water, sanitation, and hygiene projects to prevent further water wastage in countries that suffer from water crises, such as Yemen and many regional countries.



Lebanon Detains Several People on Suspicion of Firing Rockets at Israel

A view shows a damaged site in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, as Israeli troops withdrew from most of south Lebanon, in Lebanon, February 19, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows a damaged site in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, as Israeli troops withdrew from most of south Lebanon, in Lebanon, February 19, 2025. (Reuters)
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Lebanon Detains Several People on Suspicion of Firing Rockets at Israel

A view shows a damaged site in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, as Israeli troops withdrew from most of south Lebanon, in Lebanon, February 19, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows a damaged site in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, as Israeli troops withdrew from most of south Lebanon, in Lebanon, February 19, 2025. (Reuters)

The Lebanese military said it has detained a group of people linked to firing rockets into Israel last month.

In a statement issued late Wednesday night, the army said it had detained several people, including a number of Palestinians, who were involved in firing rockets in two separate attacks toward Israel in late March that triggered intense Israeli airstrikes on parts of Lebanon. Lebanon’s Hezbollah group denied at the time it was behind the firing of rockets, The Associated Press reported.

The army said that a vehicle and other equipment used in the rockets attacks were confiscated and the detainees were referred to judicial authorities. The army said it had carried out raids in different parts of Lebanon to detain the suspects without giving further details.

On Thursday, the state-run National News Agency reported that Gen. Rodolph Haikal briefed a weekly cabinet meeting about the security situation along the border and the ongoing implementation of the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.

Three security and one judicial official told The Associated Press that four Palestinians linked to the Hamas group are being questioned.

A Hamas official told the AP that several members of the group were detained in Lebanon recently and released shortly afterward adding that they were not involved in firing rockets into Israel. He said in one case authorities detained a Hamas member who was carrying an unlicensed pistol.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Hezbollah started launching attacks on Israel a day after the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023 with the Palestinian militants’ attack on southern Israel. The war that left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused wide destruction ended in late November with a US-brokered ceasefire.

Since the ceasefire went into effect in late November, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes that left dozens of civilians and Hezbollah members dead.

On Tuesday, the office of the UN high commissioner for human rights said that at least 71 civilians, including 14 women and nine children, have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since a ceasefire took effect.