Undersea cables cut in the Red Sea, disrupting internet access in Asia and the Mideast
Dubai, the United Arab Emirates-The submarine cable cuts in the Red Sea disrupted Internet access in parts of Asia and the Middle East, said on Sunday, although it was not immediately clear which caused the incident.
There have been concerns about targeted cables in a Red Sea campaign by Yemen Houthi rebels, which rebels describe as an effort to put pressure on Israel to put an end to his war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the Houthis have denied having attacked the lines in the past.
Submarine cables are one of the dorsal spine of the Internet, as well as satellite connections and land cables. As a rule, internet service providers have several access points and reach traffic in case of failure, although it can slow down access to users.
Microsoft announced via a status website that the Middle East “could experience increased latency due to cut-off fibers in the Red Sea”. The company based in Redmond, based in Washington, did not immediately develop, although it said that internet traffic which was not moving in the Middle East “is not affected”.
Netblocks, who monitors internet access, said that “a series of submarine cables in the Red Sea has degraded internet connectivity in several countries”, which he said, included India and Pakistan. He blamed “failures affecting the SMW4 and Imewe cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia”.
The Southeast Asian cable – Middle East – Ouest Europe 4 is managed by Tata Communications, which is part of the Indian conglomerate. The India-Middle East-Western Europe cable is managed by another consortium supervised by Alcatel-Lucent. None of the two companies immediately responded to requests for comments.
Pakistan Telecommunications Co. Ltd., a telecommunications giant in this country, noted that the cuts had taken place in a statement on Saturday.
Saudi Arabia did not immediately recognize the disturbances and the authorities did not respond to a request for comments.
In the United Arab Emirates, housing Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Internet users on the country’s state networks and Etisalat have complained of slower internet speeds. The government did not immediately recognize the disruption.
The submarine cables can be cut by abandoned anchors of ships, but can also be targeted in the attacks. It can take weeks for repairs to be carried out as a ship and the crew must locate on the damaged cable.
The line cup occurs while the Houthi rebels of Yemen remain locked in a series of attacks targeting Israel during the War of Israel-Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with air strikes, including one who killed the best leaders in the rebel movement.
At the beginning of 2024, the internationally recognized government of Yemen in exile alleged that the Houthis planned to attack underwater cables in the Red Sea. Several were cut, but the Houthis denied being responsible. Sunday morning, the Al-Masirah satellite news channel of Houthis recognized that the cuts had taken place, citing Netblocks.
From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones during the War of Israel-Hamas in the Gaza Strip. So far, in their campaign, the Houthis have flowed four ships and killed at least eight sailors.
The Houthis supported by Iran stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war. Later, they became the target of an intense air strike campaign commanded by US President Donald Trump before he said that a cease-fire had been reached with the rebels. The Houthis sank two ships in July, killing at least four on board, with others that would be held by the rebels.
The new attacks by Houthis come as a new cease-fire possible in the War of Israel-Hamas remains in the balance. Meanwhile, the future of talks between the United States and Iran on the battered nuclear program of Tehran is in question after Israel launched a 12-day war against the Islamic Republic in which the Americans bombed three Iranian atomic sites.
