The Saudi Arabia-led coalition against Iran-backed anti-government forces in Yemen said Sunday it has launched a new round of airstrikes on the country’s capital and other provinces in retaliation for a series of missile and drone attacks targeting key Saudi military and oil facilities across the country, the Associated Press reported.
“The targeting of civilians and civilian facilities is a red line that cannot be crossed,” the official Saudi Press Agency quoted coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki as saying.
The escalation, the first Time in months that Sanaa has been bombed by Saudi warplanes, comes as the kingdom grapples with a sharp increase in cross-border strikes on its infrastructure, including an attack late Sunday on a major offshore oil loading facility.
The first Saudi airstrike strikes against Houthi rebel strongholds since President Biden announced last month an end to U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, including the sale of some weapons to the country.
Residents of Yemen’s rebel-held capital Sanaa reported hearing loud explosions as a round of bombs fell on the city Sunday. There were no reports of casualties.
The Houthi-run Masirah satellite television channel reported at least seven airstrikes on the Atan and Nahda areas of Sana’a. The Masirah channel did not identify the affected facilities, but saw black smoke rising over military camps in the area. The channel also reported airstrikes on the Bagir area in the key southwestern province of Hodeidah.
In announcing its new air campaign, the coalition claimed that the Houthis’ attacks were encouraged by the Biden Administration‘s decision to remove the Houthis from the U.S. terrorism list. In the final days of former President Donald Trump‘s administration, the U.S. declared the Houthis to be considered a terrorist organization, a move that drew widespread protests from the United Nations and humanitarian groups working in Yemen.
While few Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have caused damage or casualties, attacks on major oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, have shaken energy markets and the world economy. The frequency and accuracy of these attacks have increased in recent weeks, raising concerns about Saudi Arabia’s air defense systems and the increased ability of Iranian-backed anti-government elements to strike across the border.
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