In the Red Sea, 4 out of 15 underwater telecommunication cables were damaged. They are in waters under Yemen's jurisdiction.
Telecommunication cables were cut in the Red Sea
Cable cuts affected 25% of data traffic between Asia and Europe, according to the telecommunications company HGC Global Communications based in Hong Kong.
The reasons for the damage to the cables are still unknown.
Undersea cables in the Red Sea — Seacom, TGN-Gulf, Asia-Africa-Europe 1 and Europe India Gateway — were severed in a recent "incident."
The company added that an estimated 25 per cent of traffic was affected, noting that about 80 per cent of westbound traffic from Asia was carried over cables.
HGC Global Communications said it had mitigated any disruption to its customers by rerouting data to Europe via cables in mainland China, under the Pacific Ocean to the US, and using other cables in the Red Sea.
The BBC writes that the US representative said he was trying to determine whether the cables were intentionally cut or caught by an anchor.
Meanwhile, African telecommunications cable operator Seacom told the Associated Press that "initial testing indicates that the affected segment is within Yemen's maritime jurisdiction in the southern Red Sea."
The Houthis could have planned to cut the cables
In Feb., Yemen's internationally recognized government warned that the Iran-backed Houthi movement could sabotage submarine cables in addition to attacking ships at sea.
The Houthis, who control much of Yemen's western Red Sea coast, have denied they plan to attack the cables.
It will be recalled that previously, the Armed Forces of the United States and Great Britain attacked Houthi weapons depots and infrastructure in response to Houthi drone and missile attacks on merchant ships passing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis say their attacks are in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
