Yemen · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Houthis Attack Saudi Civilian And Energy Sites, Wounding At Least 73
Houthis attacked southern Saudi Arabia targeting civilian and energy sites, wounding at least 73 people. Attacks caused fires at facilities and prompted Saudi authorities to halt some energy operations.
Whether Riyadh commented on the prison-strike allegation.
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CNN
“The Houthi attacks drew swift condemnation from Saudi Arabia’s regional allies.”Read the original ↗
CNN omits Al Jazeera’s detail that Riyadh has not commented on the Houthi prison-strike allegation.
Saudi strikes, Houthi response
Saudi Arabia said Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacked civilian and energy sites in the kingdom, wounding at least 73 civilians including women and children, as fighting intensified in Yemen.
“wounding at least 73 civilians, including women and children”
Major-General Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, said the Houthi attacks hit civilian and economic sites in the provinces of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jizan and Najran.
The Saudi Ministry of Energy said several “energy sector facilities and installations” in southern areas of the kingdom were hit early on Tuesday, sparking fires and forcing a temporary halt in some operations.
The Houthis later said the attacks were in response to more than 120 strikes launched by Saudi Arabia on Yemen in the last three days, and their military spokesman Yahya Saree said Yemeni armed forces carried out a large-scale, long-range operation using dozens of ballistic missiles and drones.
Condemnations and competing narratives
CNN reported that the Saudi Energy Ministry said the attacks caused fires at several sites in the southern region, temporarily halting some operations, and it quoted Major General Turki Al-Maliki describing the attacks as “dangerous” and “senseless.”C
CNN also said the Saudi Foreign Ministry affirmed its legitimate right to take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty, while the Houthi military statement said the attacks were in response to more than 100 Saudi airstrikes in Yemen over the past three days that it claimed had killed many people.C
The Saudi-led coalition spokesman Maj Gen Turki Al Malki told Reuters that the coalition will take “all necessary operational measures to deter this terrorist militia,” while Reuters said the Houthis attacked the southern cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran.
Reuters reported that Brent crude futures rose $1 to $98 a barrel after the Saudi energy ministry statement, while U.S. crude futures rose over $2 to $93.65 a barrel.
What’s at stake next
The attacks came as the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis had resumed after a truce in 2022, with hostilities restarting in July when the Houthis launched missiles and drones towards Saudi Arabia’s Abha international airport.
“some 1,078 people have been killed or wounded since August 24”
Al Jazeera said the World Health Organization reported some 1,078 people have been killed or wounded since August 24, while more than 21,000 people have been displaced since Thursday.A
NPR said the flare-up threatened to squeeze shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a critical route for oil and global trade, and it said the attacks ignited fires at several oil facilities and utilities in Saudi Arabia’s southern region.
NPR also reported that the attacks came after weeks of escalating clashes between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen that shattered a four-year truce, and it described the renewed conflict as bringing more uncertainty for the global economy.