Yemen: Houthi rebels refuse to release Emirati ship

Hodeida is a strategic city, as its port is the entry point for three quarters of the international humanitarian aid arriving in Yemen.

REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad

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In Yemen, the Houthis on Saturday (January 15th) rejected a call from the UN Security Council demanding the " 

 " of a ship flying the UAE flag.

The boat was seized in the Red Sea on January 3 off the rebel-controlled port of Hodeidah.

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With our correspondent in Dubai,

The call is ineffective.

At a meeting on January 12, the United Arab Emirates had urged members of the UN Security Council to adopt " 

 " against the Houthi rebels.

The

under the UAE flag is an " 

 " denounced the permanent representative of the Emirates to the United Nations.

The boat, with 11 foreign crew members on board, contains equipment for the construction of a hospital, Saudi Arabia said.

A ship full of weapons, according to the rebels

For a rebel government official in Yemen, the version is different.

"

," he quipped, "

 ."

When seized, the boat was coming from the island of Socotra.

A strategic territory controlled by separatists from the south, close to the United Arab Emirates.

In Yemen, the seven-year-long war never ends.

The Arab coalition,

, announced on Saturday that it had killed more than 300 Houthis in the past 24 hours in the provinces of Al-Bayda and Marib. 

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• Yemen