First Air Raid Alert Issued Over Saudi Capital Riyadh, Raising Fears of All-Out War with Ansar Allah (Houthis)

[Financial News] Amid escalating attacks by the pro-Iranian Yemeni rebel group Ansar Allah (Houthis), Saudi Arabia issued its first air raid alert for its capital, Riyadh.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and other outlets on the 19th, Saudi Civil Defense issued air raid alerts in several areas, including Riyadh, from the previous night through the morning of the same day, local time.
It was the first alert issued in Riyadh since Ansar Allah (Houthis) intensified its attacks last July and declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia.
There were repeated reports of explosions in Riyadh. However, the alert was later lifted, and authorities said the danger had passed.
After recently seizing Mocha port, a key stronghold in western Yemen, Ansar Allah (Houthis) expanded its offensive by also taking control of Perim Island in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, at the entrance to the Red Sea.
As Ansar Allah (Houthis) stepped up attacks against the Saudi mainland, warnings of potential attacks were issued one after another for Mecca, Saudi Arabia's second-largest city Jeddah, and ultimately the capital Riyadh.
Ansar Allah (Houthis) also carried out large-scale missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi Aramco's oil facilities in Yanbu and an air base in Khamis Mushait.
Saudi Arabia responded with successive airstrikes on rebel positions and communications facilities in Taiz Governorate and Hajjah Governorate in Yemen. There have also been indications that Saudi Arabia used Chinese-made ballistic missiles against Ansar Allah (Houthis) in combat, further intensifying the armed clashes between the two sides.
Ansar Allah (Houthis) also claimed that it had shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet with a surface-to-air missile over Marib Governorate in Yemen on the 16th and released footage related to the incident.
As the fighting intensifies, concerns are growing that Yemen's civil war, which had remained relatively subdued since the 2022 ceasefire agreement, could escalate into an all-out war.
[email protected] Jang Min-kwon Reporter