The Houthis have agreed to a “temporary truce” to allow the recovery of the Greek oil tanker Sunion, which was bombed by the Yemeni rebels themselves last week, thus avoiding a potential environmental disaster in the Red Sea: the Iranian mission to the United Nations announced.
The Sunion was struck on August 21 off the rebel-held port city of Hodeidah. The Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked the ship with drones and missiles. The UK maritime safety agency OCMTO, led by the Royal Navy, reported three fires on the ship, which is carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil.
According to the Iranian mission to the United Nations, “several parties” had asked the Houthis for “a temporary truce to allow tugboats and rescue vessels to enter the area” where the tanker is located. “Given humanitarian and environmental concerns, Ansar Allah (another name for the Houthi rebels, ed.) accepted this request,” the statement said.
But the mission added that “the failure to provide assistance and prevent the oil spill in the Black Sea is linked to the negligence of some countries rather than concerns about the risk of being targeted.”
The Sunyon crew, consisting of 23 Filipinos and two Russians, was rescued by a ship from the European Union’s Aspidis mission.
Reproduction © Copyright ANSA
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