Houthi attack on Yemen-bound commercial ship aimed at worsening humanitarian crisis, says Yemeni minister

Yemeni Minister of Information Moammar Al-Eryani said the Iran-backed Houthi militia’s targeting of a commercial ship en route to Yemeni ports, carrying goods intended for the Yemeni people, clearly demonstrates that the group is no longer content with looting the nation’s resources, halting salaries, and destroying livelihoods. He said the Houthis are now also targeting food supplies arriving by sea, in an escalation that underscores their ongoing strategy of deepening citizens’ suffering and prolonging the humanitarian crisis.

Al-Eryani explained on his X account that the targeted vessel was not carrying weapons nor heading to any other country, but was loaded with commercial goods for Yemenis. He noted that the attack proves the militia is imposing a real blockade on the Yemeni people, both in areas under their control and across other provinces, by disrupting the delivery of essential needs, raising food prices, and expanding hunger, poverty, and hardship.

The minister pointed out that such actions are not new for the Houthis, recalling their previous destruction of civilian aircraft at Sanaa airport, which deprived Yemenis of their right to travel, as well as attacks on oil export facilities and ports in Mukalla. These attacks, he said, aimed to halt the state’s main sources of revenue and prevent the government from paying public sector salaries, even after the government had begun disbursing wages in Houthi-controlled areas.

He added that targeting oil export facilities was not only directed at the government, but directly affected employees’ salaries and their families’ livelihoods, closing off a vital source that could have helped alleviate suffering across all provinces, including those under Houthi control. This, he said, confirms the militia’s deliberate policy of leaving Yemenis without salaries, services, or sources of income.

Al-Eryani stressed that the Houthis’ actions have nothing to do with defending Yemen or championing its people, but rather constitute an open war on Yemenis, using starvation, impoverishment, isolation, and fear as tools to subjugate and control society. He said this turns citizens into hostages, desperate for food, salaries, or the chance to travel, making them easier to exploit, silence, and enslave.

The minister called on Yemenis, especially those living in areas forcibly controlled by the militia, to recognize the true nature of the Houthi project. He stressed that those who confiscate salaries, loot property, destroy aircraft, halt oil exports, and block food supplies cannot claim to care for Yemen or defend its people, but are instead the direct cause of their suffering, hunger, isolation, and deteriorating living conditions.

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