A senior Arab Coalition official reaffirmed on Friday tremendous efforts being exerted in order to ensure the security of Bab al-Mandeb Strait and southern Red Sea waters. The official said that Saudi-led Coalition forces have stepped in to secure the vital waterway despite it embodying an international and regional responsibility. Speaking to Al Arabiya, the official stressed common international interest in contributing to these efforts and ensuring the flow of trade and oil through Bab al-Mandeb. The spokesman for the coalition, Colonel Turki al-Malki said earlier during a press conference on Friday evening, that the collision of a ship in Hodeidah port confirms the failure of the Houthi militias in the management of the port, stressing that the control of the Houthis on the West Coast hurts the Yemenis and the international community. He pointed out that there are 22 million Yemenis affected by the Iran-backed Houthi coup fighting against the internationally-recognized government. Coalition Spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki had confirmed that the coalition will continue with its operations to restore full control over the port of Hodeidah and the West Coast in Yemen. On another scope, Maliki said that overwhelming evidence shows that Houthis were behind the targeting of al-Thawra hospital (Arabic for the Revolution Hospital), found along with the local fish market in Hodeidah. “The Coalition did not conduct any operations in Hodeidah on Friday,” Malki said. “The coalition follows a strict and transparent approach based on international law. We will investigate any allegations, and if there is any responsibility on our part, we will be transparent,” he added. “The strategic goal of the coalitions operations is to reinstate legitimacy in Yemen,” he said in conclusion. Maliki said that ammunition used in targeting Al-Thawra hospital and the fish market in Hodeidah was carried out by Houthi military artillery, meanwhile coalition operations were active far from the two shelled spots. Presenting a summary map on military operations in Hodeidah, Maliki showed that red points indicating active targets bombed by the coalition included neither the hospital nor the local fish market--while green points showing Houthi military activity does cover both aforementioned targeted civilian sites. Yemeni official news agency released government statement condemning the attack as a heinous crime and said it constitutes a serious violation of the international humanitarian law, and the Geneva Conventions and foremost is a war crime against humanity bound by any moral limitations. The conflict in Yemen began when Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014 and forced the internationally recognized government to flee to Aden. The coalition intervened in 2015 to return the countrys control to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.