FT: Houthis replenish stockpiles of missiles and sea drones

Yemeni Houthis from the rebel movement “Ansar Allah” have managed to regroup and prepare for new attacks on ships in the Red Sea following a ceasefire agreement reached with the United States in early May.

This agreement ended a series of devastating U.S. strikes on their positions and weapon stockpiles, reported the Financial Times (FT).

Martin Kelly, head of the advisory marine security team at the British firm EOS Risk Group, said the recent Houthi attacks have been “much more aggressive” than before.

They had enough time to “replenish their stocks of anti-ship missiles and [sea drones],” which will influence their future operations, he added.

According to Farea al-Muslimi, a Yemeni expert at the UK’s Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, the Houthis “needed to buy time because they were hit very badly by the American air strikes,” and are now resuming attacks.

With the absence of U.S. forces in the part of the Red Sea where they previously operated with aircraft carriers, the rebels now have complete freedom of action to target ships, noted Robert Peters, a representative of the British maritime risk management company Ambrey.