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Houthis Claim New Strikes on Saudi Oil and Military Sites as Coalition Reports Drone Interceptions, UN Extends Yemen Sanctions
By Maya Wilson
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Yemen’s Houthi movement has claimed renewed attacks on Saudi oil and military infrastructure, while the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted suspected Houthi drones over the kingdom, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday.
Al Jazeera reported that Major General Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, announced on Thursday that coalition forces had intercepted suspected Houthi drones over the Riyadh region and the Eastern Province. The report did not say how many drones or missiles were involved.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted several Saudi sites. According to Al Jazeera, Saree said the Houthis had used a drone to target a pumping station on the East-West Pipeline and had also targeted the Yanbu oil facility on the Red Sea. He said a military cargo plane at Sharurah airport, near Yemen’s border, was also targeted with a drone, and that the group had targeted the Saudi Aramco headquarters in Riyadh.
Saree said a ballistic missile launched towards Khamis Mushait airbase had “scored a direct hit”. The claim has not been independently confirmed, and Al Jazeera’s report gave no independent account of damage at any of the sites named.
The report gave no casualty figures or damage assessments for the claimed attacks. It did not establish whether any of the targets were struck, beyond the Houthis’ own claims.
Saree also rejected a Saudi assertion that the Houthis had targeted the Mecca region on Wednesday, calling it a “grave falsehood”, according to Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera said Riyadh had rerouted about four million barrels of crude oil per day through the East-West Pipeline to Yanbu, equivalent to about 4 percent of global supply.
The strikes came as fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government forces has been building through the day, with earlier exchanges reported across the front lines. The Saudi-backed coalition said it continued to confront the Houthis across all front lines, targeting leaders, vehicles, reinforcements, weapons and positions, Al Jazeera reported.
Yemen’s Defence Ministry, citing the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, said the battle against the Houthis was moving towards its “desired objectives”, according to Yemen’s official pro-government Saba news agency. A Defence Ministry meeting in Marib governorate discussed the ongoing operations and ways to improve coordination between military units taking part in the Dawn of Yemen offensive.
The Security Council on Thursday unanimously approved a one-year extension of Yemen-related sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, and demanded an end to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. The mandate of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen, which made the recommendations, was also extended.
A council statement condemned “the military escalation by the Houthis, their maritime and cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia, and their threats to commercial shipping vessels.” The council also called on “all parties to refrain from escalatory actions and to resolve differences and disputes through negotiation”, while backing the territorial integrity of both Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
The resolution emphasised that sanctions measures “shall not apply to humanitarian assistance or supplies for basic needs of civilians, without negatively affecting legitimate trade activities”.
China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong said the sanctions were “merely a means, not an end in themselves” and expressed hope that “the situation in Yemen will de-escalate as soon as possible”.
The UN humanitarian office said more than 333,000 people had been displaced in Yemen since the beginning of August, including more than 24,000 in the past week. Civilians “continue to pay a heavy price as violence damages health facilities, forces families from their homes, and hinders the work of humanitarians”, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
Separately, Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia is pressing the European Union to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organisation, but European officials told the news agency they were concerned that such a move could undermine a future peace process. Designation would require the unanimous support of all 27 member states, and Reuters reported that only a small number had so far backed the step. The European Parliament adopted a resolution last month calling for the listing, a largely symbolic move. The Reuters report also said the Houthis were already subject to EU sanctions, including an arms embargo and asset freezes on 12 commanders, and noted European concerns that listing the group could close off limited channels of contact, complicate aid work in Houthi-controlled areas, and prompt retaliation against European vessels near Yemen.
Maya Wilson
World Desk Lead, The Library Media
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