Yemen · updated 47m ago · 2 min read
Saudi Grand Mufti Urges Coalition Forces To Unite Against Houthis As Attacks Mount
Grand Mufti Saleh al-Fawzan urged front-line coalition forces to unite against Houthis Restoring security and stability in Yemen under its legitimate leadership is paramount
Whether Saudi moves mean deeper escalation or partner protection.
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The New York Times
“hinted that Saudi Arabia might expand its military campaign inside Yemen.”Read the original ↗
Al Jazeera
“Paris is to send ‘soldiers, radars, and defence systems’ to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.”Read the original ↗
The New York Times emphasises possible Saudi escalation, while Al Jazeera emphasises allies protecting Saudi infrastructure.
Troops urged as attacks rise
Saudi Arabia’s grand mufti Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan Al-Fawzan urged coalition forces and Saudi soldiers stationed along the front line to remain united against the Houthis as Houthi attacks mounted. The mufti said, “Restoring security and stability in Yemen under its legitimate leadership is a paramount duty,” and he urged soldiers to “cooperate with one another and unite your word.” Saudi officials said France was sending troops to guard the major oil terminal at Yanbu, while Saudi officials met with peers from Pakistan and Turkiye to discuss options under their mutual defence pact.
The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, had repeatedly fired missiles and drones into Saudi Arabia, disrupting oil flows from the world’s largest energy exporter. The Houthis said on Thursday they had struck the facilities of state oil firm Aramco in Yanbu and a “sensitive target” in Riyadh, while Saudi forces said they had intercepted six ballistic missiles.
Mecca pact and UN pressure
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye met on Thursday to arrange an “urgent meeting” of their military chiefs of staff under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. The Mecca pact’s framing treated an attack on one member as an attack on all, and the ministers also condemned Houthi attacks that they claimed targeted Mecca and other civilian sites. At the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Yemen’s Vice President Abdullah Abdulkader al-Alimi-Bawzer warned that the Houthis were using shipping security “as a tool for blackmail,” adding that “It is taking hostage the entire global economy.”
The Houthis’ lightning offensive this month captured the port city of Mokha and all of Yemen’s Red Sea coast. The Houthis reached the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial artery for global trade and energy supplies, as diplomacy faced an impasse.
Oil, shipping, and escalation risks
The Houthi targeting of Yanbu added to pressure on Saudi Arabia’s oil exports, and strikes disrupted the operation of the East-West Pipeline linking Yanbu to export routes. Riyadh had been using the pipeline to export crude bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, which is restricted amid the Iran-US war, but the Houthis forced the Saudis to switch some exports back to Hormuz. Brent crude rose more than 3 percent on Thursday, briefly topping $108 a barrel, before easing to $105.77 on Friday morning.
The World Health Organization said fewer than 10% of health centers in affected areas are equipped to provide the care that wounded people need, as the human toll of renewed hostilities in Yemen stretched beyond the battlefield. UNICEF reported at least 15 children had been killed and another 14 wounded in the past three weeks, while it said more than 130,000 people had fled their homes as fighting escalated between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces.