Yemen: Saudi coalition foils drone attacks, launches air strikes on Sanaa

The Saudi-led military coalition battling Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Sunday it conducted air strikes on Houthi military targets in Sanaa and other regions after the group launched armed drones towards Saudi Arabia, reported Reuters.

The coalition, which said it had destroyed 10 armed drones, said in a statement on Saudi state media that “civilians and civilian objects in the Kingdom are a red line”.

The coalition did not specify locations in the kingdom. The US consulate in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah issued an advisory, citing reports of suspected attacks and explosions on Sunday near Jeddah and the southern town of Khamis Mushait.

In the Houthi-held Yemeni capital Sanaa, a Reuters witness reported several air strikes. Plumes of black smoke were visible in the vicinity of a military compound near Sanaa University. The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said coalition warplanes bombed al-Nahda and Attan districts.

The Houthis, who have been battling the coalition since it intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March 2015, recently stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Fighting has also intensified on the ground in Yemen in Marib and Taiz regions.

The escalation comes as the United States and the United Nations increase diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire to pave the way for a resumption of UN-sponsored political talks to end the conflict, which is largely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Saudi state media on Sunday cited the coalition as saying the Houthis were emboldened after the new US administration revoked Washington’s designation of the Houthis as a terrorist organisation in February.

Last week, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on two Houthi military leaders after the movement ramped up attacks on Saudi cities and its offensive in Marib.

The Houthis, who ousted the internationally recognised government from power in Sanaa in late 2014, deny being puppets of Tehran and say they are fighting a corrupt system and foreign aggression.

The war, in a military stalemate for years, has killed tens of thousands of people and has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

Saudi-led coalition destroys 10 Houthi drones

The Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen said on Sunday that it destroyed 10 armed drones launched by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, including at least five fired towards Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported quoting state television channels.

The coalition did not specify locations in the kingdom but said the drones were aimed at “civilian sites”. On Saturday, the coalition said it intercepted seven drones over 24 hours launched towards Khamis Mushait and one towards Jazan, both in southern Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis, who have been battling the coalition since it intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March 2015, recently stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Fighting has also intensified on the ground in Yemen in Marib and Taiz regions.

The television channels cited the coalition as saying the escalation in Houthi attacks was a result of the coalition’s “victories” in Marib and because of the Houthi’s “hostile interpretation” of a decision by the new US administration in February to revoke terrorist designations on the group.

The United States and the United Nations have stepped up diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, which is largely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Last week, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on two Houthi military leaders in the first punitive action against the group taken by President Joe Biden’s administration.

The Houthis, who ousted the internationally recognised government from power in the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014, deny being puppets of Tehran and say they are fighting a corrupt system and foreign aggression.

The war, in a military stalemate for years, has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Friday that Al-Thawra hospital in Taiz treated 28 people wounded in intense clashes since Wednesday and that the hospital itself was hit by gun fire, injuring three, including a 12-year-old boy.

In Marib, the government’s last northern stronghold, hundreds of fighters from both sides have been killed.