Houthis launch ballistic missile, drone strikes on 3 Saudi cities

The Houthi group launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities, prompting condemnation from the UN and warnings of escalating conflict. The strikes and cross-border exchanges threaten to unravel years of fragile calm in Yemen, with reports of civilian casualties and mass displacement.

Riyadh:  The Houthi group launched ballistic missile and drone attacks targeting the Saudi cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Jazan, the Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognised government in Yemen said.

In a statement on social media platform X, coalition spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki said the Houthis were continuing attacks on the kingdom’s national assets and infrastructure, reflecting what he described as the group’s extremist approach toward escalation and the targeting of civilians in Saudi Arabia, reports Xinhua news agency.

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The coalition’s Joint Forces Command would respond to protect the kingdom’s sovereignty, national assets, civilians and civilian objects, he added.

The attacks on Wednesday (local time) came amid a sharp escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Houthi group said dozens of “Saudi airstrikes” had struck areas under its control over the past 12 hours.

The cross-border exchanges have unfolded alongside a sharp escalation inside Yemen, where government forces and the Houthis are fighting on several fronts, most intensely in the country’s western areas. The escalation threatens to end several years of relative calm on Yemen’s major frontlines following a UN-brokered truce that took effect in April 2022.

Earlier on Tuesday, the United Nations condemned the cross-border attacks by the Houthis in Yemen against multiple sites in southern Saudi Arabia, which affected civilian and energy infrastructure.

The world body also expressed deep concern over reports of civilian casualties in the attacks, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The United Nations is equally concerned by the intensification of military clashes across multiple front lines within Yemen, particularly reports of possible civilian casualties resulting from the fighting, said the spokesperson.

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg continues engaging directly with the parties with the aim of containing the current escalation and preserving space for dialogue. Continued military escalation risks devastating political, economic and security ramifications for Yemen. The parties should engage constructively with UN-led political efforts, said the spokesperson.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said an escalation in fighting in Yemen is devastating communities already struggling to survive after more than a decade of conflict.

More than 5,600 households have been displaced across Taiz governorate and southern Al Hodeidah governorate since the escalation in fighting on Thursday. At least 11 civilian casualties have been reported in the last week, including two children killed and nine people injured, said the office.