Houthi attacks escalate conflict in Saudi Arabia
A wave of Houthi attacks Tuesday on Saudi Arabia wounded more than 70 people and ignited fires at several oil facilities and utilities in the kingdom’s southern region, authorities said, a major escalation in the renewed conflict between an important U.S. ally and the Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen, reports BritPanorama.
The attacks follow weeks of escalating clashes between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen, effectively shattering a four-year truce in the ongoing civil war.
Fighting persists across several fronts, notably Yemen’s west coast, where government forces claim territorial gains in the provinces of Hodeida, Taiz, and Baydah. Concurrently, the Houthis have intensified offensives against Saudi oil facilities and vessels in the Red Sea.
Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, reported that early Tuesday’s assaults targeted “civilian and economic facilities” in the Saudi cities of Abha, Jazan, Najran, and Khamis Mushait.
Al-Malki confirmed that the attacks wounded 73 individuals, including women and children, but did not provide a detailed breakdown of the casualties.
The assault led to fires at multiple oil facilities and utilities across Saudi Arabia’s southern region, prompting the kingdom’s Energy Ministry to temporarily halt operations at the affected sites.
Firefighting efforts were underway Tuesday morning as responders worked to control the blazes, according to the ministry.
Al-Malki characterized the assaults as a “serious escalation” and a “flagrant violation of the kingdom’s sovereignty,” emphasizing the threat posed to the safety of its citizens and residents.
He pledged retaliation, asserting that the Saudi-led coalition would implement all necessary operational measures to counter the Houthi militia decisively.
While the Houthis did not officially comment on the recent attacks, they indicated that a statement regarding a “large-scale military operation” deep within Saudi territory would soon be released.
Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office overseeing the rebels’ Saba news agency, expressed support for the assaults on social media. He remarked, “The Saudi enemy has to understand that the time for committing crimes and massacres against the Yemeni people without response, deterrence or paying a price has ended.”
The attacks occurred shortly after the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of conducting an airstrike that targeted a prison in Yemen’s northern province of Jawf, claiming that at least seven people, including a child, were killed in the strike in the city of Hazem.
Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and large portions of northern Yemen, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile.
A Saudi-led coalition, which includes the United Arab Emirates, intervened the following year in an effort to restore the government to power.
Tensions heightened earlier this year between U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE as their partnership in the Yemeni conflict faltered, culminating in the UAE’s withdrawal from Yemen.
The civil war has claimed at least 150,000 lives, according to U.N. estimates, pushing the nation to the brink of famine on various occasions.
