Catherine Colonna says Red Sea attacks by Houthi rebels ‘cannot go unanswered’
The head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna, declared on Sunday that the attacks in the Red Sea “cannot remain unanswered”after multiple operations perpetrated by Houthi rebels from Yemen. “We are studying several options” defensive “with our partners”especially for “prevent this from happening again”added the Minister of Foreign Affairs, present in Israel.
One after the other, the largest shipping companies are abandoning the Red Sea. On Saturday, the Italian-Swiss shipowner Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) announced that its ships would no longer operate on the Red Sea, the day after an attack which hit one of its container ships. French shipping giant CMA CGM also announced it was suspending its sailings ” until further notice “.
In recent weeks, Yemeni rebels, close to Iran, have increased attacks near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait, which separates the Arabian Peninsula from Africa. The Houthis have warned they will target ships sailing off the coast of Yemen with links to Israel, in response to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.