Saudi-led coalition forces said they had intercepted suspected Houthi drones over Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh region and Eastern Province on Thursday, the same day the UN Security Council agreed to extend sanctions on the Iran-allied group. Major General Turki al-Maliki, the coalition’s spokesperson, announced the interceptions in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
The Houthis, for their part, described a wider campaign against the kingdom. The group’s military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said its forces had targeted oil and military sites in Saudi Arabia, and he presented several claims that the kingdom has not confirmed in the reporting provided.
Houthi claims target oil facilities and military sites
Saree said a pumping station on the East-West Pipeline had been hit by a drone, and that the Yanbu oil facility on the Red Sea had also been targeted. Riyadh says it has rerouted about 4 million barrels of crude per day through the East-West Pipeline to Yanbu, equivalent to roughly 4 percent of global supply.
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Saree also claimed that a military cargo plane at Sharurah airport, close to the Yemeni border, had been struck by a drone. He said a ballistic missile fired towards Khamis Mushait airbase had “scored a direct hit”. He added that the group had targeted the Saudi Aramco headquarters in the capital, Riyadh.
Saree rejected as a “grave falsehood” a Saudi assertion that the Houthis had targeted the kingdom’s Mecca region on Wednesday. The coalition, for its part, said Saudi-backed forces fighting on behalf of Yemen’s internationally recognised government continue to confront the Houthis across all frontlines, targeting their leaders, vehicles, reinforcements, weapons and positions.
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 the pro-government Saba news agency. A ministry-convened meeting in the Marib governorate discussed the ongoing operations and ways to improve coordination among military units taking part in the Dawn of Yemen offensive.
Security Council extends Yemen sanctions for one year
On Thursday, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to extend sanctions related to Yemen for one more year. The measures include asset freezes and travel bans, and the resolution demands an end to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. The mandate of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen, which makes the recommendations, was also extended.
- Asset freezes and travel bans remain in force for another year.
- The UN Panel of Experts on Yemen has its mandate extended.
- Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are explicitly demanded to stop.
The resolution condemns the Houthis’ military escalation, along with their maritime and cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia and their threats to commercial shipping. It also states that the sanctions do not apply to humanitarian assistance or supplies for civilians’ basic needs, provided legitimate trade is not negatively affected.
Council members urged “all parties to refrain from escalatory actions” and to settle disputes through negotiation, while backing the territorial integrity of both Saudi Arabia and Yemen. China’s envoy to the UN, Ambassador Fu Cong, said that “the council sanctions are merely a means, not an end in themselves”, and expressed hope that “the situation in Yemen will de-escalate as soon as possible”.
Displacement rises as Saudi Arabia lobbies the EU
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday that more than 333,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since the beginning of August, including more than 24,000 in the past week. OCHA said civilians “continue to pay a heavy price as violence damages health facilities, forces families from their homes, and hinders the work of humanitarians”.
Separately, Saudi Arabia is pressing the European Union to adopt an EU Parliament resolution that would designate the Ansar Allah Houthi movement as a “terrorist organisation”, according to sources familiar with the effort. European officials said the bloc is concerned that such a move could undermine a future peace process.
EU foreign policy spokesperson Anouar El-Anouni said the bloc is in regular contact with Riyadh on regional developments. He declined to comment on any specific discussions under way.
