Saudi Arabia and Houthi rebels trade blows as rebels retaliate for attack on Yemen’s capital

[Financial News]  

Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi rebels traded fierce blows on the 13th (local time).
According to Al Jazeera, Saudi Arabia launched surprise airstrikes that day on major oil facilities in Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, which is controlled by the pro-Iran Houthi rebels.
In response, the Houthi rebels launched missile attacks targeting Saudi Arabia as a whole.
The Saudi-led coalition struck Al-Sabahah Central Base, a fuel depot belonging to the Yemen Petroleum Company (YPC) on the outskirts of Sana’a. The airstrike came just after the coalition issued an urgent evacuation order for civilians near the facility.
YPC said no petroleum products were currently stockpiled at the facility and claimed the airstrike had no impact on oil reserves or the supply chain.
The airstrikes appeared to be retaliation for the Houthi rebels’ repeated attacks in recent days on King Khalid International Airport and other sites in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital.
In response to the retaliatory strikes, the Houthi rebels also launched missiles at Saudi Arabia.
Saudi coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said in a post on the social media platform X that Houthi rebel missile attacks were continuing across Saudi Arabia and that Saudi forces were intercepting the missiles.
“Saudi forces are intercepting missiles and also destroying Houthi rebel launchers from which ballistic missiles were fired,” Al-Maliki said.
The capital, Riyadh, was out of danger of attack for the time being.
Saudi authorities had earlier issued a “danger alert” for Riyadh, but later said the Houthi rebels were attacking elsewhere and that “the threat to Riyadh has passed.”

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