SANAA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group said Friday it had not closed the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, insisting its recently announced maritime measures were limited to Saudi-linked shipping.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the group's chief negotiator and spokesperson, dismissed reports suggesting the waterway had been shut down.
"There is no closure of Bab al-Mandab as some are promoting," Abdul-Salam said, describing the Houthi measures as "only affecting the Saudi side."
According to Abdul-Salam, the move is to respond to what the group called the Saudi-led "siege" on Houthi-controlled Yemeni areas, and to guarantee "the security, sovereignty and independence of the Yemeni people."
On Monday, the Houthi group announced a maritime ban on Saudi-linked shipping, citing what it called Riyadh's prolonged blockade of areas under Houthi control.
On Thursday, the group said it carried out a military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, claiming the vessels had violated the maritime ban.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of Yemen's internationally recognized government. ■
