Eritrean naval forces must stop their attack on fishermen in Yemen’s territorial waters, Fish Wealth Minister, Fahd Kafayen, said yesterday.

“The Eritrean forces have been targeting the Yemeni fishermen within the country’s territorial waters, kidnapping them and confiscating their boats,” Kafayen wrote on Facebook, stressing that the practices were “unacceptable and must be halted”.

He called on Eritrean authorities “to release the detained Yemeni fishermen, handover the confiscated equipment, and to halt its attacks.”

Tensions recently escalated between Yemen and Eritrea at the border coast of Hanish, after Eritrean forces attacked a number of Yemeni fishermen on Wednesday within the country’s territorial waters. The Yemeni coast guards later detained seven Eritrean gunmen.

On Saturday, the Eritrean navy was reported to have seized 15 Yemeni fishing boats and stepped up piracy operations off the Yemeni coast and around the archipelago of Hanish Island.