The Yemeni Houthi group announced, on Wednesday evening, that 4 fishermen were injured by fire from an Eritrean force in the Red Sea while they were fishing in Yemeni territorial waters.

This came according to a statement by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources in the Houthi government (not internationally recognized), published by the group’s “Saba” news agency.

The statement said, “An Eritrean patrol equipped with heavy weapons opened fire directly on the boats of Yemeni fishermen while they were fishing within a distance of 10 nautical miles from Zuqar Island (Yemeni on the Red Sea).”

He explained that the accident resulted in “four fishermen being injured, and two boats carrying 55 fishermen being damaged.”

The statement considered, “This attack is a dangerous escalation in the context of the violations practiced by the Eritrean authorities against Yemeni fishermen and maritime security in the region, and a clear violation of the good-neighbourliness agreements.”

He also called on "the United Nations, the international community, and humanitarian and human rights organizations to stop these attacks against fishermen, demanding that fishermen be compensated for the material and moral damage they suffered, and that their rights to practice fishing in Yemeni territorial waters be guaranteed."

As of 19:00 (UTG), there has been no immediate comment from the Eritrean authorities regarding the Houthi statement.

Yemen and Eritrea had previously disputed over the islands of the Hanish Archipelago, located between the coasts of the two countries, near the Bab al-Mandab Strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, before an international arbitration court ruled in favor of Yemen in 1998.