A cargo ship that was struck by a Houthi ballistic missile on Monday has created an 18-mile long oil slick in the Red Sea as it continues to take on water, two US officials said Friday.

The M/V Rubymar — a Belize-flagged, UK-registered, Lebanese-owned vessel — was carrying 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it was struck on Monday by one of two ballistic missiles fired from Houthi territory in Yemen.

US Central Command said the ship is currently anchored as it takes on water. “The Houthis continue to demonstrate disregard for the regional impact of their indiscriminate attacks, threatening the fishing industry, coastal communities, and imports of food supplies,” US Central Command said.

  • derf82@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Israel is guilty for what it’s doing, but blaming Israel for these Houthi attacks is ridiculous.

    The Houthis are self serving in these attacks. As they have claimed land, support has turned against them because it turns out they suck at providing services to the people that live in areas they control. So they are falling back to the one popular policy they have: supporting Palestinians, and fighting back against “imperialists.”

    Except attacking ships in the Red Sea is doing nothing for the Palestinians. Maybe if they only targeted Israeli vessels of ships heading to/from there, but they are not. Even getting bombed has an upside as it reinforces their underdog anti-imperialist messaging.

    • livus@kbin.social
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      9 months ago

      @derf82 I’m not “blaming Israel” for decisions taken by the Houthis. I don’t really get why you’d take that from my comment.

      Israelis made their own decisions.

      Houthis proceeded to make their own decisions about how to respond to that too. I have no doubt that they are pursuing an agenda.

      And the ecology of the Red Sea is no longer a priority for most people in the region because everyone has to make decisions based on what’s happening.

    • Jojo@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      they have claimed land,

      fighting back against “imperialists.”

      Hey, I think I know how they can do that basically for free!

    • Linkerbaan@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      All your talking points were debunked more than a month ago in this short interview.

      “To those who claim that we do it for our popularity, let them come forth and enhance their own popularity”