Yemeni Houthis have rejected a UN request to release an Emirati-flagged vessel they seized earlier this month, along with its 11-member crew, saying the ship was carrying “military assets”.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has described the Rwabee as a “civilian cargo vessel” that was leased by a Saudi company and had been in international waters carrying equipment to be used at afield hospital.

Houthi official Hussein al-Azzi has claimed it was transporting military assets. “The Rwabee vessel was not carrying… toys for children but weapons for extremists,” he told the Houthis’ Al Masirah television.

The UN Security Council on Friday demanded the “immediate release” of the Rwabee and its crew and stressed “the importance of freedom of navigation in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea”, a strategic route for international shipping.

In a statement drafted by the United Kingdom and adopted unanimously, the 15-member Security Council demanded “the immediate release of the vessel and its crew” and underscored “the necessity of ensuring the crew’s safety and well-being”.

It also called on “all parties to de-escalate the situation in Yemen”, including by working with the UN’s special envoy to return to the negotiating table.

Al-Azzi responded by accusing the UN of siding with “murderers who violate international laws”.

The Rwabee “belongs to a country participating in the aggression against our people and at war with Yemen, and entered (Yemeni) territorial waters unlawfully”, he said.

A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to support the internationally recognised government after the Houthis captured the capital, Sanaa, the previous year.

The Iran-backed Houthis seized the Rwabee on January 3, off the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, and then released a video purportedly showing military equipment on board, including military-style inflatable rafts, trucks and other vehicles and what appeared to be a collection of rifles.

 -Agencies

-File photo