Human Rights Watch: Yemen’s Houthi ship attacks are war crimes

Human Rights Watch on July 23rd declared that Yemen’s Houthi rebels committed war crimes by carrying out fatal assaults that sank two commercial ships in July, according to The New Arab via AFP.

Previously, Yemen’s Houthi movement claimed responsibility for a July 6th attack on the Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas in the Red Sea, which severely damaged the vessel in a four-hour assault involving missiles and sea drones. This marked the first such attack in the Red Sea since April and is part of the Houthis’ ongoing campaign against international shipping. 

The Houthis targeted the Magic Seas and Eternity C cargo vessels in the Red Sea, as part of their campaign against maritime traffic they allege is connected to Israel due to its war on Gaza.

Fifteen individuals, including four confirmed fatalities, remain unaccounted for following the July 7th strike on the Eternity C.

The Houthis asserted they had “rescued” an unspecified number of crew members, although their current status remains unclear.

The incidents were “violations of the laws of war amounting to war crimes”, Human Rights Watch stated, noting it found “no evidence that the ships were military targets”.

“They deliberately attacked commercial vessels that could clearly be identified as civilian,” said the New York-based organisation, adding that “detaining rescued crew members is also prohibited”.

Rebel leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi defended the strikes, claiming the ships were owned by companies which served Israeli ports.

However, Human Rights Watch stated that neither vessel had any ties to Israel and neither was bound for an Israeli destination.

The Magic Seas had departed from China and was on its way to Turkey carrying fertiliser and steel billets when it was hit on July 6th.

The Eternity C had just delivered humanitarian aid for the United Nations World Food Programme and was en route to Saudi Arabia.

“The Houthis have sought to justify unlawful attacks by pointing to Israeli violations against Palestinians,” said Niku Jafarnia, HRW’s researcher for Yemen and Bahrain.

“The Houthis should end all attacks on ships not taking part in the conflict and immediately release the crew members in their custody,” she said.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have launched over 100 assaults on vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, said the Joint Maritime Information Centre, which is operated by a Western naval alliance.

Human Rights Watch previously concluded that those actions also amounted to war crimes.

The group further raised environmental concerns, referencing analysis by Wim Zwijnenburg of the Dutch peace group PAX. 

Zwijnenburg said satellite images revealed substantial oil slicks trailing from the sites where the ships sank, posing a threat to marine life in a protected reserve off the coast of Eritrea.

He also noted that oil had reportedly began washing ashore near a fishing area.

The New Arab via AFP, Maghrebi.org