Saudi-led coalition forces said on Thursday they intercepted suspected Houthi drones over Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh region and Eastern Province, as the UN Security Council unanimously extended Yemen-related sanctions for one year and demanded an end to cross-border attacks. Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki announced the interceptions via the Saudi Press Agency, citing continued threats to the kingdom’s territory and oil infrastructure. The episode shows how the Yemen conflict keeps spilling across borders, endangering Saudi energy sites and commercial shipping.
Key Takeaways: The Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting suspected Houthi drones over Riyadh and the Eastern Province on Thursday, while the Houthis claimed strikes on the East-West Pipeline, the Yanbu oil facility, Sharurah airport and Khamis Mushait airbase. The UN Security Council voted unanimously to extend Yemen sanctions and the Panel of Experts mandate for one year, condemning Houthi military escalation and threats to commercial shipping. OCHA says more than 333,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since early August, including over 24,000 in the past week.
Riyadh says it has rerouted about 4 million barrels of crude per day via the East-West Pipeline to Yanbu, equivalent to about 4 percent of global supply, making the pipeline and Red Sea terminals strategically sensitive. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group targeted oil infrastructure and military assets, including a pumping station on the East-West Pipeline and the Yanbu facility, and claimed a drone strike on a military cargo plane at Sharurah airport and a ballistic missile that “scored a direct hit” on Khamis Mushait airbase. He also said the Houthis targeted Saudi Aramco headquarters in Riyadh, while rejecting as a “grave falsehood” Saudi assertions that the group had targeted Mecca on Wednesday.
Saudi-backed forces fighting for Yemen’s internationally recognised government said they continue to confront the Houthis across all frontlines, targeting leaders, vehicles, reinforcements, weapons and positions. Yemen’s Defence Ministry, citing the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, said the battle was moving toward its “desired objectives,” according to the pro-government Saba news agency. At the UN, members called on “all parties to refrain from escalatory actions” and backed the territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The resolution “condemns the military escalation by the Houthis, their maritime and cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia, and their threats to commercial shipping vessels,” and said sanctions “shall not apply to humanitarian assistance or supplies for basic needs of civilians.” China’s UN envoy Fu Cong said sanctions were “merely a means, not an end in themselves.”
OCHA said more than 333,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since the beginning of August, including more than 24,000 in the past week, warning that 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 designating the Ansar Allah Houthi movement as a “terrorist organisation,” Reuters reported. European officials told Reuters the European regime is concerned this could undermine humanitarian operations and diplomatic engagement. The outlook remains fragile as sanctions pressure vies with the risk of further escalation.
Source: www.aljazeera.com