The Saudi-led coalition, supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government, has dismissed as “misleading” the Houthi group’s claims of targeting Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh. The coalition’s spokesman, Turki al-Maliki, stated this on Saturday, following the Houthis’ assertion that they had launched ballistic missile and drone attacks on an Aramco oil facility near Riyadh.
The Houthi group claimed the assault resulted in significant fires, coinciding with intensified fighting between the rebels and government forces in Yemen.
Al-Maliki, in remarks reported by Saudi media outlet Asharq Al-Awsat, suggested that the Houthis are attempting to distract from their substantial losses and growing public discontent.
This development follows claims by the Yemeni government forces that they conducted 257 precision targeting operations against Houthi sites, movements, and military capabilities on Saturday. Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, a spokesman for the Yemeni government forces, stated that initial estimates suggest these operations resulted in the deaths of at least 700 Houthi rebels.
Al-Maliki further commented that the Houthis’ “ties to external agendas” have led to “chaos and devastation in Yemen,” and that their current struggles in Taiz are pushing them to seek “illusory victories.”
Early Sunday, the Saudi-led coalition announced that its armed forces had executed 97 “precise targeting operations” against Houthi reinforcements along the Tor al-Baha front and the Taiz axis, utilizing warplanes, drones, artillery, missiles, and snipers.
Fighting between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces has escalated since the collapse of a fragile truce in July 2022, leading to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
In mid-September, the Houthis captured the port city of Mocha and strategic islands in the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a critical route for global oil shipments, before anti-Houthi forces managed to stabilize the front lines.
Yemen has been embroiled in conflict since the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, forcing the Yemeni government to relocate to Aden.
