Berlin [Germany], April 21: A German warship ended its mission protecting merchant shipping from Houthis in Yemen and departed from the Red Sea early on Saturday morning.
The frigate was part of the EU's defensive naval mission Aspides and was deployed in the Red Sea in February to protect merchant ships from attacks by the militants in Yemen, who are protesting against the war in Gaza.
The Red Sea is home to the most important sea route from Asia to Europe, which runs through the Suez Canal. Houthis, allied with Iran, want to force an end to the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip.
The frigate, with a crew of 240 on board, completed the mission at 5.50am (0350 GMT) and left the area of operations, the Bundeswehr said.
The crew on the Hessen repeatedly shot down drones launched by the militants in the German Navy's first mission of its kind. The vessel was deployed on February 23 after a series of attacks on merchant vessels.
Source: Qatar Tribune