Yemen's Houthis again warn off U.S. forces in Red Sea

SANAA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels on Sunday renewed their warning to the U.S. forces, urging them to leave the Red Sea quickly before it becomes "a burning arena."

"The Red Sea will be a burning arena if America and its allies continue their bullying," Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said in a statement aired by the group's al-Masirah TV.

The warning came as the U.S. accused the Houthis of attacking MV Saibaba, an Indian-flagged crude oil tanker owned by Gabon, with a drone, which Abdulsalam denied by claiming that it was a U.S. naval destroyer that was behind this near-miss missile attack in the southern end of the Red Sea.

"While a plane belonging to our navy was carrying out reconnaissance work across the Red Sea, an American warship hysterically opened fire with multiple weapons," explained Abdulsalam, adding that one of the missiles exploded near MV Saibaba, which came from Russian ports and headed southward.

The spokesman denounced the "militarization of the Red Sea" by America and its partners, saying they "posed a threat to international maritime navigation" and asking them to leave.

On Wednesday, the Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi clearly warned that his group would launch deadly attacks on U.S. warships and interests across the Middle East if Washington waged war against the militia.

Last week, the U.S. announced a 10-nation coalition to quell Houthi missile and drone attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea.

Houthi rebels have escalated attacks on Israel-linked commercial ships passing through the Red Sea and Arab Sea, demanding an end to Israel's aggression on the Gaza Strip and the delivery of food and medicine supplies to the enclave.

The Houthis control large swathes of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and the strategic port city of Hodeidah on the coast of the Red Sea, where up to 12 percent of world trade passes through.