Saudi Arabia Vows Retaliation Against Houthi Rebels for Attacks on City Centers and Energy Facilities

[Financial News] Saudi authorities announced that Yemen’s pro-Iranian Houthi rebels carried out provocations targeting Saudi Arabia’s major energy facilities and civilian infrastructure, injuring at least 73 people.
Saudi Arabia and its coalition strongly warned of retaliation against the Houthi rebels.
According to Saudi military authorities and the Ministry of Energy, the airstrikes that occurred on the 8th (local time) struck four cities in southwestern Saudi Arabia: Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran. The attacks caused fires at some oil facilities, temporarily halting operations. Major General Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi coalition, announced that women and children were among the injured.
The Houthi rebels claimed that this attack was retaliation for dozens of recent bombings carried out by Saudi Arabia in areas controlled by the country in northwestern Yemen. The Houthis criticized the Saudi military for continuing large-scale airstrikes over the past three days, including bombing a prison in the Al-Hazm region that killed at least 11 people and buried more than 20 others.
The Saudi-led coalition characterized the airstrike as a "dangerous provocation and a hostile act by a terrorist group" and warned that it would take all necessary military measures to contain the Houthi rebels.
The Yemeni civil war deteriorated rapidly after the unofficial ceasefire, which had lasted for four years, collapsed last July. Since declaring a "naval blockade" against Saudi Arabia, the Houthi rebels have continued attacks on airports, oil facilities, and oil tankers in the Red Sea.
In particular, fierce fighting continues along the southwestern coast of Yemen as Houthi rebels have launched an offensive since the 3rd to seize control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic stronghold connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. To date, it has been estimated that more than 300 people have been killed and over 18,500 have been displaced.
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively blockaded due to the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran, concerns over global energy security are mounting as the Red Sea, a major oil shipping route for Saudi Arabia, becomes embroiled in military conflict.
[email protected] Yoon Jae-jun Reporter