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Armed Houthi rebels
Photo: Hani Mohammed / dpa
The military coalition that is fighting against the Houthi rebels in Yemen under the leadership of Saudi Arabia has accused them of kidnapping a ship in the Red Sea.
The "Rawabi", which flies under the flag of the United Arab Emirates, was "captured and kidnapped" on Sunday evening, a coalition spokesman said on Monday.
The ship was on its way back from the Yemeni island group of Socotra, where it had delivered medical material.
The Houthi rebels confirmed the capture of the ship, which, however, had transported "military material".
The ship "entered Yemeni waters without a permit" and committed "hostile acts," a spokesman said on Twitter.
"The Houthis terrorist militia bears full responsibility for this criminal act of piracy," said the spokesman for the military coalition.
He asked the Houthis to "release the ship immediately".
Otherwise "the coalition forces would take all necessary measures to address this violation."
War has been raging in Yemen since 2015.
The Sunni Kingdom of Saudi Arabia supports the government there in the fight against the Houthi rebels, who are supported by Iran.
The conflict had recently escalated.
Last week, after a series of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, killing two people, Riyadh stepped up air strikes on Houthi positions in Sanaa.
The Houthi rebels then warned Saudi Arabia of "painful" consequences if the military coalition continued its "aggression" against Yemen.
Tens of thousands of people have already been killed in the conflict and millions have had to flee.
The United Nations has classified the war in Yemen as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
More than 80 percent of the country's 30 million inhabitants are dependent on humanitarian aid.
mfh / AFP