French naval forces are accompanying ships with French interests through the Red Sea region, the country’s top naval commander in the area said, adding that Paris’ current mandate did not include striking Houthi rebels directly, Reuters reports.

Speaking to reporters, Rear-Admiral Emmanuel Slaars, joint commander of French forces in the region, said France was working closely with the US-led Prosperity Guardian mission in the area by exchanging information and carrying out patrols, but said command of French forces remained entirely under Paris’ control.

“The French operation consists of on the one hand patrolling the maritime zones where the Houthis operate to stop them,” Slaars said. “These patrols are in coordination with the Prosperity Guardian operation,” he said.

He said international military operations were producing results and that 80 per cent of container traffic was still going through the Bab Al-Mandab straits between Yemen and Djibouti.