Above photo: Twitter/Customs.gov.om.
Yemen’s Ansarallah-led government has warned UAE-backed forces plan to carry out a false flag attack to justify US attacks on Sanaa.
Omani customs authorities seized a shipment of drones hidden in a truck from the UAE heading for Yemen on 10 January.
“The Directorate General of Customs seized a truck at the Hafeet crossing loaded with wireless drones coming by transit system from the United Arab Emirates heading to the Republic of Yemen,” said the customs authorities.
“Customs inspectors were able to discover the shipments hidden professionally in places specially prepared for smuggling them in the truck. The concerned authorities began investigating the case in order to complete the rest of the legal procedures against the suspects,” the authorities added.
How the drones were intended to be used is unknown, but officials in Yemen’s Ansarallah-led government in Sanaa claimed Wednesday that UAE-backed mercenary groups in Yemen are preparing to carry out false flag attacks against commercial vessels. This would allow them to implicate the Sanaa government and open the door to a military response from the US Navy.
Ansarallah-led Yemeni armed forces have been targeting commercial ships owned by Israeli-linked firms and ships headed to Israeli ports since November. Yemeni forces hope to pressure Israel to end its brutal bombing campaign on Gaza, which many view as genocide.
But Ansarallah insists it will not target other ships passing through the Red Sea, and oil tankers have not been targeted.
Fadl Abu Talib, a member of the political bureau of the Ansarallah resistance movement, said on Tuesday that “the UAE, through its mercenaries in Yemen, is making arrangements to target commercial ships that are not destined for the Zionist entity.”
Abu Dhabi and its proxy wish “to mix up the cards and give the Americans [the] justification for militarizing the Red Sea,” Abu Talib added. “But we tell it that its despicable behavior is exposed, as our operations in the Red and Arab seas have specific, clear objectives.”
On Wednesday, Yemeni forces launched a new barrage of 18 drones, two cruise missiles, and a ballistic missile at targets in the Red Sea, causing no damage or injuries, said US Central Command.
“We’re determined…that we not see escalation, that we don’t have the conflict spread, and we’ve made that very clear,” Blinken said at a briefing with journalists. “But, of course, if our personnel, if our forces are threatened or attacked, we’ll take appropriate steps. We’ll respond.”
The Yemeni attack came after US forces sank three Yemeni boats and killed 10 Yemeni naval soldiers attempting to seize an Israeli-linked Maersk container vessel on 31 December.