Yemen's Houthis Damage Key Submarine Cables Disrupting Internet Connectivity Across Continents: Report

Yemen's Houthi rebels have allegedly damaged four crucial submarine cables connecting Europe, East Asia, Africa, and Arab countries, causing significant disruptions to internet services.

This was reported by the Israeli publication Globes.

A submarine communications cable is an underwater cable connecting land-based stations to transmit telecommunication signals across oceans and seas.

The damaged undersea communications cables span the Red Sea, stretching from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Djibouti in East Africa, according to the article. While the publication implicates the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement in the attack, no concrete evidence or specific sources are provided. The timing of the incident remains unspecified.

Globes identifies the affected cables as belonging to AAE-1, Seacom, EIG, and TGN, with serious internet disruptions reported primarily in the Persian Gulf states and India. Despite the damage, the article deems the situation as non-critical, emphasizing that alternative cables connecting the same countries still operate in the region.

The repair process for the damaged cables is estimated to take at least eight weeks, with concerns raised about potential future attacks by the Houthi rebels during the restoration efforts.

The Houthi rebels, who control a significant portion of Yemen's Red Sea coast, have escalated attacks on Israeli-linked shipping, contributing to a decline in shipping traffic through the Suez Canal.

In response to these provocations, the United States and Great Britain initiated strikes on Houthi targets in mid-January.

The Ansar Allah movement, however, defended its actions, stating that their attacks aim to support the Palestinians and do not impede freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.