Internet users in the Middle East may be affected "due to cable breaks in the Red Sea”, Microsoft writes on a status site.
Netblocks, which monitors internet access, states at the same time that ”a number of cable breaks in the Red Sea are impairing internet access in several countries” and mentions, among other things, India and Pakistan.
Users in the United Arab Emirates are also reporting slow internet.
It is unclear exactly when the cable breaks occurred, but the telecom company Pakistan Telecommunications reported on the incident in a statement on Saturday.
There has been concern that the cables will be targeted by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since the outbreak of war in Gaza to avenge Israel.
Yemen's rival government claimed in early 2024 that the Houthis planned to attack underwater cables in the Red Sea. Several cables were broken then, but the movement denied being behind it.
