The Purple Sea is an important waterway for international commerce, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Aden by way of the Suez Canal. Roughly 12 p.c of world transport site visitors usually passes by way of the Purple Sea, together with key oil shipments and business items.
The Purple Sea assaults started on November 19, 2023, when Houthi forces seized Galaxy Chief, a British-owned, Japanese-operated automobile provider, off the coast of Hodeidah. The 25-person crew was detained, and the ship was held for greater than a 12 months.
The Houthis justified the seizure as an act of solidarity with Palestinians, stating they’d proceed their actions till Israel’s struggle on Gaza got here to an finish.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have carried out greater than 100 assaults, together with missile, drone and boat raids, focusing on Israel-linked business vessels in addition to US and UK army ships within the Purple Sea. The assaults have resulted in two ships being sunk and one seized.
The map under reveals a few of the places of those assaults.
Yemen’s devastation over the previous decade
The struggle in Yemen has left the nation in extreme poverty.
The nation has been divided between the Houthis, also called Ansar Allah, who management the west, together with Sanaa, and the internationally recognised Yemeni authorities, which controls the south and east, with Aden as its capital.
Since 2015, the civil struggle in Yemen, with the intervention of a Saudi-led coalition on the federal government’s facet, has devastated the nation.
Greater than 4.5 million folks have been displaced and 18.2 million want humanitarian support. The chance of nationwide famine is at its highest, with practically 5 million folks going through acute meals insecurity, in response to the United Nations Refugee Company.
