Houthis hit submarine communications cables
GlobesFeb 26
Report: Red Sea Underwater Internet Cables Cut as Tensions Continue
The Facts
At least three submarine communications cables that run through the Red Sea have reportedly been cut in circumstances that remain unclear, forcing providers to reroute as much as a quarter of traffic between Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
This comes after Yemen's internationally recognized government claimed that the Houthis could target underwater networks, as a map of the cables had been published on a Houthi-linked Telegram channel.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
If targeting merchant ships sailing through the Red Sea wasn't atrocious enough, the Houthis have additionally decided to carry out its threat to attack submarine communications cables connecting Africa, Asia, and Europe. Fortunately, though this move has seriously disrupted internet services, communications activities haven't been critically damaged.
Establishment-critical narrative
It's no wonder that the West and its allies are now promoting baseless claims that Yemen's Houthis have damaged underwater internet cables running through the Red Sea, as the pro-Gaza genocide Israeli-Anglo-American coalition has consistently failed to defeat a military thought to be weak. Western aggression, intended to deter the Houthis, has actually bolstered their operations.
Nerd narrative
There's a 5% chance that the submarine cables running through the Red Sea will be damaged by a hostile actor before 15 March, according to the Metaculus prediction community.