Yemen Monitor/News Room
A European naval commander told Bloomberg that Houthi attacks in the Red Sea supported by Iran have activated pirate networks in Somalia.
Since November, the Houthis have been launching missile and drone attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea that they consider to be linked to “Israel” or heading to its ports, saying that this is in support of the Palestinians in Gaza Strip.
In an attempt to deter them, US and British forces have been carrying out strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen since January 12. The US military alone carries out occasional strikes on missiles and drones that it says are ready for launch.
Bloomberg quoted Ignacio Villanueva, who leads the EU operation tasked with curbing piracy, as saying that the pirates “believe there is an opportunity because of the Houthis,” as ship traffic increases along the Somali coast.
Villanueva added on July 1 that one of the methods used by pirates is to hijack small boats such as dinghies and sailboats and travel with them in the middle of the Indian Ocean and try to attack larger ships.
He pointed out that the increasing number of attacks are being carried out by groups that are “more heavily armed, organized and larger in number” than ever before, noting that there have been 30 attacks on commercial ships, fishing boats and sailboats since November.
Last month, the Houthis carried out the largest number of attacks on commercial ships so far in 2024, targeting 16 ships, according to data published by the naval forces operating in the region.
