A young Yemeni boy holds a fake rocket during a demonstration organized following airstrikes by US and British forces in Sana'a, the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital, on January 12, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Huwais/AFP)
The Houthis reported on Sunday that some 50 Saudi airstrikes had been carried out in Yemen, particularly on their stronghold in the north of the country, just hours after an attack claimed by these pro-Iranian fighters against a military base in the neighboring kingdom. The Houthis, who announced a maritime blockade against Riyadh in July and targeted its oil tankers, launched a major attack on Tuesday against Saudi Arabia, an ally of the Yemeni government.
Saudi authorities reported dozens of injuries and the temporary shutdown of several oil facilities. The Houthi movement has also inflicted significant setbacks on Yemeni government forces in recent days, seizing the historic port of Mokha and the rest of Yemen's Red Sea coast after a lightning offensive.
This has strengthened its hold on the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key passage for maritime traffic in the Red Sea. "The criminal Saudi enemy has carried out 58 airstrikes in the past 24 hours, targeting the provinces of Taiz, Lahj, al-Jawf, Hajjah, al-Bayda and Saada, using F-15 aircraft that took off from Khamis Mushait airbase," Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree stated on Telegram.
These provinces are mostly located in the north, like Saada, the stronghold of pro-Iranian fighters, and in the west of the country. The Houthi-affiliated Almasirah channel also reported "artillery fire" in Saada.
86,000 displaced persons
These strikes have so far been concentrated mainly on the front lines, in support of Yemeni government forces, without targeting the heart of Houthi power, particularly the capital Sana'a, which was heavily bombed by the Saudi-led coalition between 2015 and the 2022 ceasefire. Riyadh has not confirmed the strikes in Yemen and also provides little information on Houthi attacks against the kingdom. However, it issues brief alerts almost daily regarding the risk of attacks in southern regions near Yemen.
On Sunday, the alerts, which concerned the city of Abha and the area near Khamis Mushait, were quickly lifted, according to the Civil Defense. Earlier on Sunday, the Houthis had claimed responsibility for targeting a military base. On Saturday evening, the Saudi Civil Defense reported two people injured after a projectile fired by the Houthis landed in the Jizan region, which also borders Saudi Arabia.
The fighting in western Yemen in recent weeks has left hundreds dead and displaced nearly 86,000 people, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The organization also stated that more than 2,000 of these displaced people had fled the country by boat since Thursday evening, heading for Djibouti.
Between 2014 and 2022, a war raged between the Houthis and pro-government forces, backed by Riyadh, killing hundreds of thousands of people and plunging Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, into a major humanitarian crisis. Hostilities resumed in July when the Houthis challenged Riyadh's control over Yemeni airspace by allowing an Iranian plane to land in Yemen. The internationally recognized government retaliated by attacking the airport, an attack the Houthis blame on their Saudi ally.
Yemen is the latest country to be drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli offensive against Iran in late February. According to the American media outlet Axios, citing US officials, US President Donald Trump refused to order airstrikes against the Houthis, as requested by Riyadh.
