Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea, disrupting Internet access in Asia and the Middle East

The submarine cable cuts in the Red Sea have disrupted Internet access in parts of Asia and the Middle East, experts said on Sunday, although it was not immediately clear, which caused the incident.

There have been concerns about the targeted cables in a Red Sea campaign by the Houthis rebels in Yemen, which the rebels describe as an effort to put pressure on Israel to put an end to her attacks in the Gaza Strip as she fights Hamas. 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 has announced via a status website that the Middle East “may experience increased latency due to submarine fibers in the Red Sea”. The company, based in Redmond, 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 short-term 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 on Saturday in a statement that the cuts had taken place. Saudi Arabia did not immediately recognize the disruption and the authorities did not respond to a request for comments.

Look | The NATO patrol ship keeps an eye on the submarine cables in the Baltic Sea:

Aboard a ship monitoring the presumed Russian sabotage

We are on one of the NATO patrol ships protecting large submarine cables in the Baltic Sea. The CBC News visual surveys team has mapped the cable recent damage sequence in the region which, according to some, are the Russian sabotage of the Shadow fleet.

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 Houthis have denied responsibility for the past

The cup on the lines occurs while the Houthis rebels of Yemen remain locked in a series of attacks targeting Israel for its current assault in Gaza. 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 due to the War of Israel-Hamas. 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 several-week air strike campaign ordered by US President Donald Trump before declaring a ceasefire that 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 possible ceasefire in the War of Israel-Hamas remains in 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.