Houthis strike Yanbu oil facility & Saudi military sites as UNSC extends sanctions | Gravitas

The Houthi-Saudi war shows no signs of abating. Intensifying their attack further, the Houthis claimed to have launched a massive attack on energy and military facilities across Saudi Arabia. The Iran-backed group said that it attacked a pumping station on Saudi’s east-west pipeline. This assumes significance, as the country has been using this pipeline to reroute around four million barrels of oil per day to the Yanbu port located on the Red Sea coast.

This accounts for nearly four per cent of global oil supply. An Aramco facility in Riyadh was also reportedly struck using a drone. This is not all. Houthis also launched a ballistic missile strike on the Khamis Mushait air base as well as a military cargo plane at the Sharurah airport. An oil facility in Yanbu was also bombed. At the same time, it rejected Saudi’s claim of attacking Mecca.

On its part, the Saudi-led coalition claimed to have downed several missiles and drones overnight. According to Saudi Arabia, debris from intercepted Houthi missiles fell in a village located 35 kilometres from Mecca. Meanwhile, reports indicated that Yemen’s internationally recognised government is fortifying positions on the outskirts of Aden province, which is home to its de facto capital. On the other hand, Houthis are reportedly consolidating their gains near the Red Sea and are moving closer to the Gulf of Aden.

The pressure on Houthis is growing, though. For instance, a day earlier, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted in favour of extending sanctions on Houthis for one more year. This includes an asset freeze and travel bans. While condemning the military escalation by Houthis and their threats to vessels, it called on all parties to resolve disputes through negotiations.

Now, the humanitarian cost of this war cannot be overstated. According to the UN, over three hundred thirty thousand people have been displaced in Yemen since the beginning of August. Earlier this week, Houthis held a mass funeral for the 44 people killed in the alleged Saudi strike on a village near Sanaa. On this occasion, relatives of the victims expressed their anguish.