Mohammed Al-Houthi: British PM ‘Responsible’ for Sinking of UK Rubymar Ship in Red Sea

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, stated that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his government “bear responsibility” for the sinking of the Rubymar, a British container ship that sank in the Red Sea almost two weeks after being struck in a retaliatory attack by Yemen’s Armed Forces.

The Yemeni Armed Forces targeted the Rubymar with multiple naval missiles in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic waterway connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, after the vessel ignored warnings from the Yemeni Navy.

Despite warnings issued by Yemen about the ship’s precarious condition due to water leakage in the engine room, the vessel remained abandoned for 12 days.

“We say to Sunak: You and your government bear responsibility for MV Rubymar and the responsibility to support genocide and siege in Gaza,” Al-Houth said in a post on his X social media account on Saturday.

He emphasized that the British government has a “chance to salvage” the Rubymar by authorizing humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, which has been under Israel’s incessant bombardment over the past five months.

The US Central Command has acknowledged the sinking, releasing an image of the sinking ship.

Yemen’s military has been targeting Israeli ships and those bound for Israeli ports since November last year in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, which has been subject to five months of war that has so far killed more than 30,410 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 71,700 others.

The Yemenis have made it clear that they will not hesitate to carry out qualitative operations against all hostile targets in defense of their homeland and in reaffirmation of their unwavering support for the Palestinian nation.

They stated earlier that strikes targeting those ships in the Red Sea will not stop unless the regime ends its genocidal campaign against the besieged Palestinian territory.

According to the Yemeni Armed Forces, international shipping companies are safe to sail in the area if they are neither owned by Israel nor destined for ports in the occupied Palestinian territories.