EU's Aspides mission urges doubling fleet to counter YAF operations

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Bloomberg
21 Jun 2024 12:43

The commander of the EU's Aspides has revealed that the naval mission lacks warships that can counter the Yemeni Armed Forces' operations.

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A crew member does maintenance work on the deck of the USS aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, also known as the IKE, on the South Red Sea, Tuesday, February 13, 2024. (AP)

The head of the European Union's naval operation in the Red Sea, Rear Admiral Vasileios Gryparis, stated that the current naval force deployed needs to more than double in size due to increasing attacks by the Yemeni Armed Forces.

Since February, four EU vessels have been patrolling the waters near Yemen. During this period, they have offered "close assistance" to 164 ships, intercepted over a dozen unmanned aerial vehicles, and neutralized four anti-ship ballistic missiles, Gryparis claimed, as quoted by Bloomberg on Wednesday.

“We don’t have that many assets and the whole area we have to cover is enormous,” he said. “I am pressing all the member states to provide more assets.”

The US and UK's aggressions have proven ineffective in halting the attacks, resulting instead in vessels linked to these nations being targeted more frequently. Meanwhile, the Yemeni Armed Forces have indicated plans for an expanded operation that could target ships in the Mediterranean Sea.

For months, the Yemenis have been responding to Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip by attacking military and commercial vessels that are Israeli or linked to the Israeli occupation regime in the areas surrounding Yemen.

In response to the attacks, the US formed a coalition under its leadership allegedly to stop Yemeni operations, an effort which has failed as of yet.

Furthermore, Gryparis alleged that the EU mission in the Red Sea has a defensive mandate, and any expansion of its fleet would be aimed at enhancing its operational reach rather than adopting a more confrontational approach.

“We don’t believe that hitting the Houthis might solve the problem,” he said. “Some other countries tried similar actions some years ago and some other countries still do and we see that it is not contributing to the solution to the problem.”

“There are daily about 40 or 50 ships going up and down the strait so it needs a significant amount of ships to be able to provide this close protection,” he said. “There are cases where we are not able to provide this close protection but we try and cope with the volume.”

Gryparis stated that while Operation Aspides' current mandate expires in February 2025, he anticipates it will be prolonged or extended beyond that date.

Yemen to stand by Gaza until cessation of aggression, Abdul-Salam says

The head of the Yemeni nation negotiating delegation, Mohammad Abdul-Salam, said on Thursday that the Yemeni people have unequivocal support for Gaza, as it is rooted in their religious and moral convictions.

In an exclusive interview for Al Mayadeen, Abdul-Salam, speaking of Yemen's most recent operations in support of the people of Gaza, said, "The Yemeni operation achieved significant goals by diverting the attention of the Western powers, especially the Americans and the British."

"The operation proved that there is a Resistance Axis that not only speaks but also acts on its words. It is a genuine axis that rises to the occasion and takes action when necessary," he further added.

Abdul-Salam highlighted the operation's crucial accomplishment of eradicating harmful sectarianism, which "Israel" and the United States have tried to frame as an Arab-Persian conflict for decades, with the help of some compliant and normalizing countries.

"The Yemeni stance embodied the true meaning of selflessness in our difficult situation, prioritizing the Palestinian cause over our own issues," he stressed.

Speaking to Al Mayadeen, Abdul-Salam remarked, "The Yemeni people and leadership understand that this significant stance requires unwaveringness, regardless of the pain," underscoring that "Yemen serves as an argument against other regimes that possess the means to impose sieges, economic sanctions, and many other measures, but have not acted."

Regarding the US and British military aggression on Yemen, Abdul-Salam clarified to Al Mayadeen, "They came to protect Israel, not to stabilize Yemen, due to Yemen's clear and impactful position" on the genocide in Gaza.

Abdul-Salam went on to declare that Yemen would not cease its operations until the aggression against Gaza ended, detailing the extensive pressures Yemen has faced due to its stance on the Palestinian issue, describing them as "significant and numerous."

"The Yemeni position is one of support for Gaza and a reaction to Israeli aggression, whose brutality has exceeded all ethical and humanitarian laws," he stressed.