Foreign Minister Calls on International Community to Confront Houthi Terrorist Axis Threatening Regional Security, International Navigation
September Net
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Dr. Afrah a-Zouba called on the international community to address the emergence of a terrorist axis led by the Iranian regime backed terrorist Houthi militias, which stretches across the Red Sea coasts reaching the Horn of Africa, describing it as an interconnected network.
She underlined the need to increase support for the Yemeni government to address its threats to regional security and international navigation.
Al-Zouba said in a statement to the Yemeni News Agency, Saba, that “reports from the UN expert team on Yemen documented cooperation between the Houthi terrorist militias and al-Shabaab in Somalia that goes beyond arms smuggling, including transferring expertise and operational coordination, sending militia engineers to Somalia to train on drone modifications, and training fighters from the group in Houthi camps”.
She added “the cooperation between the Houthi militias and al-Shabaab is part of a strategy to expand regional influence, and the threat to the Bab al-Mandeb gives the militias a tool for blackmail and to impose increasing costs on global trade, resulting in the rerouting of shipments around the Cape of Good Hope and higher transport and insurance costs, confirming that its effects extend to the global economy”.
The Minister noted that Somali intelligence had intercepted communications between the Houthis, al-Shabaab and ISIS, and the cooperation of some al-Qaeda members with the militias’ intelligence, emphasizing that sectarian and ideological differences did not prevent these groups from working together to achieve common goals.
The Foreign Minister outlined four priorities for international action: recognizing the network’s connections within legal frameworks and sanctions lists, which allows for pursuing intermediaries, facilitators and financiers; enhancing intelligence sharing about their activities in Yemen and the Horn of Africa; supporting government forces which are continuing to fight the militias domestically; and stop dealings with the Yemeni government and the armed terrorist group on an equal footing.
Al-Zouba made it clear that addressing this threat requires capabilities beyond what Yemen can handle alone, in areas such as continuous monitoring, tracking financiers, shipping agents, and cross-border networks.
She quoted President Dr. Rashad al-Alimi, Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council as saying ” What happened in Bab al-Mandeb is not purely a Yemeni matter, given the waterway’s importance for international security and trade”.
The Foreign Minister noted that the Yemeni Coast Guard and Navy managed this year to intercept shipments included guidance systems for drones, components for explosive boats, and anti-tank missiles.
She pointed out that a ship was seized last August that was coming from Djibouti carrying drone components, explaining that the seizure revealed a network run by Tehran to transport shipments through Iran’s Bandar Abbas port.