Riyadh launched several raids on Yemen after Houthi rebels attacked neighboring Saudi Arabia. The attacks “against the sources of threats in Sana’a and Hodeida” were carried out to retaliate against attacks by rebels in Saudi Arabia, the official Arab SPA news agency wrote on Twitter, citing a military coalition led by Riyadh.
Houthi rebels attacked several targets in Saudi Arabia on Friday. An attack on a plant owned by Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil company in Jeddah has set off a major fire near the city’s Formula 1 circuit that is set to host Sunday’s Saudi Arabia Grand Prix. A huge plume of smoke hovered over the oil in Jeddah. The attack came during free practice before a Formula 1 race. Racing series managing director Stefano Domenicali informed team bosses and drivers at an extraordinary meeting that “the racing weekend will continue as planned,” the spokesman said.
According to a spokesman for the Riyadh-led military coalition in Yemen, Turki al-Maliki, Houthi rebels carried out a total of 16 attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia, including a power plant and several oil facilities. The fire in Jeddah has been contained, al-Maliki said.
The Houthi rebels said they also attacked several “key sites” in the capital, Riyadh, in a series of rocket and drone attacks.
With their attacks on the Houthi oil plants, they tried to “hit the nerves of the world economy,” al-Maliki said. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter. A representative of the Saudi Ministry of Energy on Friday warned of the threat these attacks pose “to the security of global oil supplies.”
The US described the recent attacks on Friday as “unacceptable.” “We will continue to work with our Saudi partners to strengthen their defense systems, working on a permanent solution to end the conflict in Yemen,” said a US State Department spokeswoman.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Germany also condemned the Houthi attacks “in the sharpest words”. Repeated attacks “violate international humanitarian law and undermine regional stability, provoking further escalation. Attacks on civilian targets cannot be justified, “said a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin.
The Yemeni militia regularly target a neighboring country. Last weekend, rebels attacked the Gizan oil terminal as well as a gas power plant and oil refinery in the industrial city of Yanbu on the Red Sea. The refinery had to temporarily cut production.
Yemen has been at war since 2015 between the troops of President Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi, backed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab states, and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. According to the UN, some 380,000 people have already died in the conflict and millions more have had to flee.