‘We are Arabs and our blood is one’: Yemeni fishermen face threat of Houthi attack – but on Gaza they are firmly behind the militants
Yemen’s fishermen set out at dawn to take on seas where they know they could face pirates, smugglers, and now Houthi militant missile attacks.
“We’re always scared,” Awad tells us as he sits on the edge of the wooden fishing boat.
“Because you don’t know when you will be attacked.”
The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden have become the new battleground in the spreading war in Gaza.
Houthi missiles targeting international shipping routes have caused havoc to global trade, forced food prices up and brought heightened misery to the Yemenis who rely on the waters for their livelihoods.
Gaza war ‘affects us 100%’
The waters are choppy and it is windy the morning we join a group of fishermen in the Gulf of Aden.
They tell us their hauls have reduced, their costs have gone up, and they rarely make a profit now after hours of back-breaking work on the seas.
“The war affects our work 100 per cent,” fisherman Naeem Hamoudy tells us as he’s busy pulling in his latest haul.
Their income has been cut by as much as 90%, he insists.
Yet every one of the fishermen appears to support the action taken in support of the Palestinians – despite the impact on their livelihoods.
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Why the crisis in Ywemen is getting worse
“The Houthis oppress us,” says one.
These men are on the opposite side of Yemen’s civil war to the Houthis militants – but the Houthi stance protesting against Israeli aggression in Gaza has won grudging respect from them.
“We are with Gaza,” says Naeem.
“And we will be with Gaza until we die because we are Arabs and our blood is one blood.”
“They are killing women and children,” he goes on in reference to the Israeli bombardment in the Strip.
“It is not an army against an army.”
Eyewitness:
Babies starving as Yemen teeters on brink of collapse
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But there’s no doubt life is already hard for these fishermen, and it’s getting harder.
After nearly a decade of civil war, the spreading impact of what’s happening in Gaza is affecting some of the poorest people in the world.
After several hours on the seas, the small fishing team hauled in a smaller-than-normal catch.
They’re disappointed yet insist they’re grateful too.
“Sometimes we get nothing,” Naeem says.
“But this won’t even really cover the cost of the fuel for the boat.”
He works out they’ll probably make the equivalent of a dollar each for their hours of work.
‘Biggest threat is from the Houthis’
There are considerable problems keeping Yemen’s seas safe.
We are taken on a tour along the coast by the head of Yemen’s Navy himself – Admiral Abdullah al Nakhai.
He takes us out on one of the two new boats they’ve received.
The fleet is small, he tells us – and certainly not big enough to counter the triple threats of piracy, smuggling and the Houthi attacks.
The head of Yemen’s navy – Admiral Abdullah al Nakhai
Alex Crawford, special correspondent for Sky News, onboard a naval ship in Yemen
The biggest threat, he insists, comes from the Houthis.
“We’re morally responsible for protecting our territorial waters,” he explains.
“But at the moment, we don’t have the means to protect against piracy, terrorism, smuggling and the Houthi intrusion.”
He says much more international help is needed for Yemen to counter these dangers.
“If we don’t get support to help us confront the Houthis,” he goes on, “then the opposite will be the case. And the opposite of security is chaos in the sea – that’s terrorism, piracy and disruption.”
The fleet of Yemen’s navy is small, and has to contend with the threat of militants, piracy, and smuggling
Scientists race to avert potential disaster
In the country’s ageing laboratories in Aden, the scientists are fighting a different sort of battle – that of potential catastrophic pollution of Yemen’s seas.
The Houthi attacks against ships passing through the critical Bab al Mandab Strait hit a vessel with thousands of tonnes of hazardous chemicals on board.
The Rubymar has been laying off the Yemeni Red Sea coast since mid-February and is now mostly submerged.
Yemeni scientists have already been testing water samples gathered from the waters near the sunken vessel under challenging conditions
A trail of oil was seen seeping out into the sea shortly after the attack – but scientists are far more worried about the prospect of the cargo of dangerous chemical fertiliser emptying into the waters.
“The leaking could happen any time – today or tomorrow,” Tawfiq al Sharjabi, the Minister for Water and Environment warned.
“It’s urgent we get international help to sort this as soon as possible.”
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Yemeni scientists have painted a terrifying picture of a potentially catastrophic environmental disaster if the chemical cargo is not safely extracted.
If the cargo leaks out of the ship’s containers instead, the chemicals could end up destroying swathes of the Red Sea and its precious marine life.
The sinking Rubymar. Pic: Al-joumhouriyah Tv
“If it happens,” Mr al Sharjabi said, “it will affect the whole Red Sea – the mangrove trees, the marine life and the Red Sea coast. Imagine how many fishermen rely on the sea every day and this will affect the whole fishing community”.
A document outlining the urgency of removing the chemicals from the sunken ship – seen by Sky News – was sent to the United Nations two weeks ago.
Yemeni scientists have already been testing samples gathered from the waters near the sunken vessel under challenging conditions.
Read more from Sky News:
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The lab manager at the Aden Oil Refinery, Dr Safa Gamal Nasser
Dr Safa Gamal Nasser, the lab manager at the Aden Oil Refinery, told us the scientists were struggling with antiquated equipment and a lack of raw materials such as the solutions required to conform to international testing standards.
“We are doing our best,” she said.
But she went on to say Yemen is in desperate need of outside help.
Alex Crawford reports from Yemen with camera Jake Britton, Specialist producer Chris Cunningham and Yemen producer Ahmed Baider.
China has been branded “a bully” and an international lawbreaker after its ships blasted Philippine vessels with water cannon in the South China Sea.
Sky News was on board the BRP Bagacay when a Chinese vessel fired water at it, causing significant damage.
Philippine coastguard spokesman Jay Tarriela told Sky News that this week’s confrontation was the first time China had used “such aggression” against their ships.
“The metal parts and the railing were bent. The canopy was also destroyed. So this came as a surprise for us that China never hesitated to use brute force,” he said.
“It completely justifies us calling The People’s Republic of China a bully country.”
Jay Tarriela, a spokesman for the Philippine Coastguard, told Sky News that China is a ‘bully’
The Philippine coastguard was on a resupply mission to the Scarborough Shoal to deliver food and fuel to Philippine fishermen when they were struck.
The submerged reef lies in disputed waters. China claims sovereignty over the reef but it is much closer to the Philippines and lies within its legally recognised exclusive economic zone.
The vessel Sky News was on board was the closest the coastguard had ever been to the shoal – just 600 metres away from it.
Asked if the mission to the shoal was a provocative move by the Philippine coastguard, Commodore Tarriela denied they were “poking the bear” but rather “driving the bear out of our own territory”.
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Sky witnesses China-Philippine confrontation
The Philippines has been stepping up its patrols in the area under the instruction of President Bongbong Marcos, and reasserting its claim to the shoal in recent months.
It has raised the spectre of open conflict. While neither side currently wants that, there is now a greater threat of open conflict.
Asked what the end game was for the Philippines, Commodore Tarriela said their priority was to “tell the world” about China’s aggression.
China’s coastguard fired water at Philippine coastguard vessel BRP Bagacay while Sky was onboard
He said their secondary goal was to ensure “like-minded states” also made China “fall in line and respect international law”.
“Otherwise, it’s everybody’s loss,” he added.
Read more:
US accuses Beijing of ‘bullying’ in South China Sea
China building airstrip on disputed island, satellite images suggest
Philippine government policy is not to resist using water cannon against Chinese vessels – and Commodore Tarriela insisted that policy remains in place after the confrontation.
The government also remains intensely determined to protect the waters it believes it has every right to operate in.
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“We’re not going to yield and we’re not going to surrender a square inch of our territory,” Commodore Tarriela insisted.
Beijing has called the action its own coastguard took as “necessary”.
Speaking at the Chinese foreign ministry’s daily news conference, spokesperson Lin Jian described the coastguard’s conduct as “professional, proper, and lawful”.
World
Three charged over killing of Sikh separatist leader in Canada – in incident which sparked diplomatic spat with India
Three suspects have been charged by Canadian police over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Vancouver last June, in an incident that sparked a diplomatic spat between Ottawa and New Delhi.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a temple by masked gunmen in Surrey, outside Vancouver, on 18 June 2023.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police assistant commissioner David Teboul said police could not comment on the nature of the evidence or the motive.
“This matter is very much under active investigation,” Teboul said.
The three suspects – Indian nationals Kamalpreet Singh, Karan Brar and Karampreet Singh – were arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
Superintendent Mandeep Mooker said: “This investigation does not end here. We are aware that others may have played a role in this homicide and we remain dedicated to finding and arresting each one of these individuals.”
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Canada killing ‘linked’ to India govt
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparked a diplomatic feud with India when he said in September that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the killing. India angrily denied involvement.
Mr Nijjar, an Indian-born citizen of Canada, was a leader in what remains of the Khalistan movement – a once-strong group calling for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland.
He was organising an unofficial referendum in India for an independent Sikh nation at the time of this death and had denied allegations of ties to terrorism.
The Khalistan movement has lost much of its power but is still supported by some in the Punjab state in northwestern India and in the Sikh diaspora overseas.
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A violent, decade-long Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s, and was ultimately crushed in a government crackdown which saw thousands of people killed, including prominent Sikh leaders.
In June 1984, Indian forces stormed the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine in Amritsar, where separatists had taken refuge.
In more recent years, the Indian government has repeatedly warned that Sikh separatists were trying to make a comeback.
Read more: What is the Khalistan movement?
Mr Trudeau’s accusation angered India PM Narendra Modi. File pic: AP
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The diplomatic row saw diplomats expelled by both India and Canada.
The Indian government said it “completely rejected” Mr Trudeau’s allegations and added: “We are a democratic polity with a strong commitment to rule of law.”
The dispute derailed trade talks between the two countries and ultimately saw Canada withdraw 41 of its 62 diplomats in India.
At the time, Canada did not provide public evidence to back up Mr Trudeau’s allegations. However, it did reveal the claims were based on intelligence provided by a major ally and surveillance of Indian diplomats in the country.
Heavy rains in southern Brazil have killed 37 people, local authorities have said, with dozens still unaccounted for.
More than 70 people are missing and at least 23,000 people have been displaced in Rio Grande do Sul, according to the state’s civil defence agency.
In some cities, water levels have been at their highest since records began almost 150 years ago, the Brazilian Geological Service said.
It said the flooding is the worst to hit the state in more than 80 years, surpassing that of a historic deluge in 1941.
Roads have been turned into rivers in several towns, with bridges destroyed and the storm triggering landslides and the partial collapse of a dam structure at a hydroelectric power plant.
A drone view of Lajeado in Rio Grande do Sul. Pic: Jeff Botega/Agencia RBS via Reuters
Residents near to a second dam in the city of Bento Goncalves have been ordered to evacuate, as fears of another collapse grow.
“It’s not just another critical situation, it’s probably the most critical case the state has ever recorded,” Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite said on social media.
He added the number of deaths will likely rise as authorities have not been able to reach some locations.
A birds-eye view of the flooding in Sao Sebastiao do Cai, in Rio Grande do Sul. Pic: AP
The devastation in Lajaedo. Pic: Jeff Botega/Agencia RBS via Reuters
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has travelled to the state to visit affected locations and discuss rescue efforts with the governor.
The state is at a geographical meeting point between tropical and polar atmospheres, which has created periods of intense rains and others of drought.
Scientists believe the pattern has been intensifying due to climate change.
Roads have been turned into rivers in several towns. Pic: AP
Heavy rains hit the state last September, as an extratropical cyclone caused floods that killed more than 50 people.
That came after more than two years of a persistent drought due to the La Nina phenomenon.
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