The Deputy Foreign Minister in the Sanaa government, Hussein Al-Ezzi, affirmed that "the presence of foreign forces in the Gulf of Aden, Bab Al-Mandab or any part of our Yemeni waters and islands is illegal and constitutes a direct threat to maritime navigation and endangers common interests."

In his Tweet, Al-Ezzi also considered that "the choice of peace and respect for the rights of our people and the sovereignty and independence of our country is the only and best way to protect the interests of all."

Al-Ezzi’s statement comes in the wake of the announcement by the commander of the US Fifth Fleet, Admiral Charles Bradford Cooper, that the US forces in the Middle East are preparing to deploy the latest fleet of unmanned aircraft in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

Cooper claimed that the goal of deploying the drone fleet is to monitor any "destabilizing activity" in the region, especially in vital waterways and areas.

Furthermore, on August 18, the Yemeni Petroleum Company (YPC) in Sanaa said that "the coalition of aggression is seizing a diesel ship despite obtaining entry permits from the United Nations, in a new violation of the temporary armistice."

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