SANA’A (Dispatches) – Yemeni forces of the Sana’a-based government threatened to directly attack international oil tankers in response to the “looting of the wealth” of Yemen, senior official Mohammed Bukhaiti said.
Commenting on the targeting of al-Dhabba oil terminal in the Hadhramaut governorate, Bukhaiti wrote on Twitter: “This attack was a warning to the oil tanker commissioned to steal Yemen’s oil. The attack was not aimed at targeting the terminal.”
“Next time, the oil tankers will be targeted unless the aggressive countries stop stealing our wealth and direct the revenues to paying salaries.”
Bukhaiti threatened that “any escalation by the enemy would be met with a similar escalation in the sea and on the ground.”
“If the international law allows the aggressive countries to kill Yemenis, besieging them and looting their wealth, we will bury it like what we have done with the UN Security Council resolutions and international community condemnations.”
“At this point, we will continue defending ourselves.”
Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said on Friday its forces had intercepted armed drones launched on a southern oil terminal in Hadhramaut province by Ansarullah fighters as an oil tanker was preparing to dock.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni prime minister has strongly condemned the Saudi-led coalition for using all available means in order to prolong its ongoing atrocious military onslaught against the crisis-stricken country and increase the suffering of its impoverished people.
Abdulaziz bin Habtoor made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting Director of Operations of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Martin Schüepp, in the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a.
He said that Riyadh and its allies are drawing on their financial, diplomatic and media resources to plunder Yemen’s energy reserves and steal the proceeds of its sold oil derivatives.
Bin Habtoor lauded the humanitarian activities of the ICRC and its efforts to alleviate the suffering of Yemenis.
He also praised the Geneva-based humanitarian organization for facilitating a prisoner exchange between Yemen’s National Salvation Government and Saudi-backed Takfiri militants.
Schüepp, for his part, said that the ICRC attaches great importance to the Yemeni conflict and has placed it atop its humanitarian projects.
He noted that the organization will spare no effort to undertake new projects within the framework of its contribution to the UN and international humanitarian agencies and will help assuage the suffering of the Yemeni people.