Swiss investigation: Houthi-founded humanitarian center oversees attacks on commercial ships

An investigation by a Swiss NGO has shown that naval attacks by the Houthis in Yemen against the backdrop of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza are being overseen by a humanitarian coordination centre set up by the rebels this year.

An investigation by Impact reported that the operations targeting shipping off the coast of Yemen were overseen by the Humanitarian Operations Coordination Centre ( HOCC ).

The center was established last February by a decree issued by the head of the Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, the highest political official in the Iran-backed Houthi movement.

The center is affiliated with the “Office of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and is subject to his supervision,” according to the text of the decree published by Houthi-affiliated media at the time.

Its mission includes “mitigating the humanitarian effects and repercussions in the theater of military operations through compliance with international humanitarian law and other relevant international laws and conventions, and communicating and coordinating internally and externally with all parties, governmental and non-governmental entities, and international organizations.”

The Swiss organization confirmed that the center is run by Ahmed Hamed, an influential figure among the Houthis and close to Mahdi Al-Mashat and the Houthi armed forces.

A report issued by a United Nations panel of experts on Yemen in 2021 considered that Hamed "may be the most powerful Houthi civilian leader outside the Houthi family."

Since November 2023, the Houthis have been launching missile and drone attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, which they say are linked to Israel or heading to its ports, and that this comes in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in light of the war between Israel and Hamas that has been going on since October 2023.

In an attempt to deter them, American and British forces have been launching strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen since January 12, and the American military alone carries out strikes from time to time on missiles and drones that it says are ready to be launched. Following that, the Houthis confirmed that American and British ships have become legitimate targets for them.

The Swiss organization's investigation touched on the working method of the Humanitarian Coordination Center, which controls the selection of companies whose ships are allowed to cross the waterways adjacent to Yemen, especially the Bab al-Mandab Strait, explaining that "the Humanitarian Coordination Center is likely involved in determining targets and attacks."

The organization said the center "institutionalizes the armed group's maritime guerrilla warfare and provides means for ships to communicate directly with the organization," such as radio communications, phone numbers and email addresses.

The Swiss organization published an email sent by the Houthis last March to the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations’ agency responsible for maritime safety. This document banned the passage of ships belonging to four categories of shipping companies: those owned by, operated by, or managed by Israel, the United States, or Britain, in addition to those whose ships are headed to an Israeli port. The center also asked the UN organization to inform the companies that own and operate the ships and the insurance companies of this.

The Houthi attacks have led to a sharp decline in shipping traffic off the coast of Yemen, and an international shipping company confirmed that it had received several messages from the Houthis, the last of which dates back about eight months, requesting that ships not pass off Yemen under threat of being targeted.

The Swiss organization said that Hamed, who is the director of Al-Mashat's office, "is known as the president's boss, because all strategic decisions of the Houthi government are not taken without his approval."

Source: French