Yemen's Houthis on Saturday claimed responsibility for an attack on an oil facility near the Saudi capital, hours after an AFP journalist saw flames and smoke rising from an Aramco refinery south of Riyadh, as both sides traded strikes in a rapidly intensifying conflict.
The Houthis' military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said late on Saturday that the group had targeted an oil facility in Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones, adding that they sparked fires at the targeted sites. An AFP journalist reported seeing firefighters attempting to extinguish a blaze at Aramco's Riyadh refinery, with ambulances and police vehicles stationed near the facility. The Saudi authorities were yet to comment.
Dozens of strikes reported on Sanaa
Houthi-affiliated channel Al-Masirah TV reported that "Saudi enemy aircraft" hit the Yemeni capital Sanaa with 26 strikes, after earlier reporting "Saudi aggression" against the city, without providing details of the targets or casualties. Two correspondents in Sanaa reported hearing loud explosions and seeing warplanes firing missiles at the city.
The Houthis' Al-Masirah channel also reported missile strikes earlier on Saturday on the telecommunications network in the northwestern governorate of Saada, one of the group's strongholds.
A conflict reignited
After several years of calm, Yemen was plunged back into civil war in July, pitting the Iran-backed Houthis, who control most of northwest Yemen including Sanaa, against Yemen's internationally recognised government based in Aden. Hostilities were reignited when Iran sent a plane to Sanaa carrying a Houthi delegation without seeking Saudi authorisation; Riyadh retaliated with strikes on Sanaa airport, and the Houthis attacked Saudi territory for the first time since 2022.
Since then, the Houthis have launched a lightning offensive seizing control of coastal regions along the Bab al-Mandab strait and struck multiple Saudi targets, including oil infrastructure, while announcing a naval blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis said Saudi Arabia bombed the Yemeni capital itself on Thursday night for the first time since renewed fighting broke out.
The renewed fighting has worsened already appalling humanitarian conditions in one of the world's poorest countries. The World Food Programme warned on Friday that three-quarters of Yemen's population is unable to meet its basic food needs.
Sources:
Free Malaysia Today (AFP): Houthis strike oil facility near Riyadh as Saudi forces hit Sanaa
The Houthis' military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said late on Saturday that the group had targeted an oil facility in Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones, adding that they sparked fires at the targeted sites. An AFP journalist reported seeing firefighters attempting to extinguish a blaze at Aramco's Riyadh refinery, with ambulances and police vehicles stationed near the facility. The Saudi authorities were yet to comment.
Dozens of strikes reported on Sanaa
Houthi-affiliated channel Al-Masirah TV reported that "Saudi enemy aircraft" hit the Yemeni capital Sanaa with 26 strikes, after earlier reporting "Saudi aggression" against the city, without providing details of the targets or casualties. Two correspondents in Sanaa reported hearing loud explosions and seeing warplanes firing missiles at the city.
The Houthis' Al-Masirah channel also reported missile strikes earlier on Saturday on the telecommunications network in the northwestern governorate of Saada, one of the group's strongholds.
A conflict reignited
After several years of calm, Yemen was plunged back into civil war in July, pitting the Iran-backed Houthis, who control most of northwest Yemen including Sanaa, against Yemen's internationally recognised government based in Aden. Hostilities were reignited when Iran sent a plane to Sanaa carrying a Houthi delegation without seeking Saudi authorisation; Riyadh retaliated with strikes on Sanaa airport, and the Houthis attacked Saudi territory for the first time since 2022.
Since then, the Houthis have launched a lightning offensive seizing control of coastal regions along the Bab al-Mandab strait and struck multiple Saudi targets, including oil infrastructure, while announcing a naval blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis said Saudi Arabia bombed the Yemeni capital itself on Thursday night for the first time since renewed fighting broke out.
The renewed fighting has worsened already appalling humanitarian conditions in one of the world's poorest countries. The World Food Programme warned on Friday that three-quarters of Yemen's population is unable to meet its basic food needs.
Sources:
Free Malaysia Today (AFP): Houthis strike oil facility near Riyadh as Saudi forces hit Sanaa
