This is a first for the French Navy. It fired Aster 15 surface-to-air self-defense missiles in the Red Sea on Sunday to shoot down drones heading straight towards it, AFP learned from a military source who requested anonymity. The multi-mission frigate (FREMM) Languedoc is deployed in the Red Sea for a national maritime security mission.
These drones came from northern Yemen, under the control of Houthi rebels who threaten to disrupt this sea route as part of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. “We condemn all attacks on freedom of navigation,” indicates the Quai d’Orsay in a press release, which ensures that it is following “very closely the evolution of the situation in the Red Sea and in the area of the Bab el Mandeb Strait.” , a strategic waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
Multiplication of attacks
According to the French general staff, “the interception and destruction of these two distinct threats” took place during the night from Saturday to Sunday, 110 kilometers from the Yemeni coast, near Hodeida, a northern port. of Yemen under the control of the Houthi rebels.
“This attack is part of a context of increasing attacks and acts of piracy in the Red Sea by the Yemeni Houthis, which constitute a very worrying increase in attacks on freedom of navigation in this area,” according to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs . “We reiterate our call on the Houthis to immediately cease attacks on civilians and threats to freedom of movement and navigation,” he continued.
Last week, the Houthis attacked two ships off the Yemeni coast, including a Bahamian-flagged vessel, claiming they belonged to Israelis. An American destroyer also shot down three drones while providing assistance to commercial ships in the Red Sea targeted by attacks from Yemen, according to Washington. On November 19, the Houthis seized the merchant ship Galaxy Leader which belongs to a British company, itself owned by an Israeli businessman.