Houthis Renew Strikes on Saudi Arabia as UN Extends Yemen Sanctions

Yemen’s Houthis have renewed drone and missile strikes on Saudi Arabia, targeting oil infrastructure and military sites, as the United Nations Security Council unanimously extended sanctions on the Iran-allied group for another year. The Saudi-led coalition said on Thursday that it intercepted suspected Houthi drones over the Riyadh region and the Eastern Province.

FAKTA

• The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted suspected Houthi drones over the Riyadh region and the Eastern Province on Thursday, 12 November.
• Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed strikes on an East-West Pipeline pumping station, the Yanbu oil facility, the Aramco headquarters in Riyadh, a military cargo plane at Sharurah airport and the Khamis Mushait airbase.
• The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to extend sanctions on Yemen for one more year, including asset freezes and travel bans.
• The World Health Organization reported at least 2,025 people killed or wounded in Yemen between 31 October and 8 November.
• The UN said more than 333,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since the beginning of August.

Houthi Strikes Saudi Arabia: Oil Sites and Airbases Targeted

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted oil infrastructure and military assets across the kingdom, including a pumping station on the East-West Pipeline with a drone and the Yanbu oil facility on the Red Sea. Riyadh says it has rerouted about 4 million barrels of crude per day through the East-West Pipeline to Yanbu, equivalent to about 4 percent of global supply.

Saree further claimed that a military cargo plane at Sharurah airport, close to Yemen’s border, was targeted with a drone, while a ballistic missile launched towards Khamis Mushait airbase scored a direct hit. The Houthi spokesperson added that the group’s forces had targeted the Saudi Aramco headquarters in the capital, Riyadh.

The coalition spokesperson, Major General Turki al-Maliki, announced the interceptions of suspected Houthi drones on Thursday, in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency. The coalition said on Wednesday that it had intercepted two drones over Mecca, and on Thursday it intercepted another over Riyadh. The Houthis denied targeting Mecca, rejecting the Saudi assertion as a grave falsehood and calling the coalition’s claim another lie.

Over the weekend, an administrative building belonging to Aramco in the financial district of Riyadh was damaged in a missile attack, according to reports citing the Saudi Press Agency and Reuters.

UN Security Council Extends Yemen Sanctions

On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted in favour of extending sanctions related to Yemen for one more year, including freezing assets and enforcing travel bans, while demanding an end to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. The mandate for the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen, which made the recommendations, was also extended.

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. Council members called on all parties to refrain from escalatory actions and to resolve differences and disputes through negotiation, while backing the territorial integrity of both Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

The resolution emphasised that measures taken to maintain sanctions shall not apply to humanitarian assistance or supplies for basic needs of civilians, without negatively affecting legitimate trade activities. China’s envoy to the UN, Ambassador Fu Cong, said the council sanctions are merely a means, not an end in themselves, and expressed hope that the situation in Yemen will de-escalate as soon as possible.

Saudi Arabia is also pressing the European Union to adopt a resolution designating the Ansar Allah Houthi movement as a terrorist organisation, according to Reuters, citing sources familiar with the drive. European officials told Reuters the bloc is concerned this could undermine a future peace process. EU foreign policy spokesperson Anouar El-Anouni said the bloc was in regular contact with Riyadh on regional developments, but declined to comment on any specific discussions under way.

Civilian Toll Rises as Fighting Intensifies

On Thursday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said more than 333,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since the beginning of August, including more than 24,000 displaced in the past week. Civilians continue to pay a heavy price as violence damages health facilities, forces families from their homes, and hinders the work of humanitarians, the agency said.

The World Health Organization reported on Tuesday that at least 2,025 people were killed or wounded between 31 October and 8 November, including 163 deaths in the strategic northern city of Marib alone.

A mass funeral procession was held in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Wednesday for at least 43 people allegedly killed in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition, according to the Houthi-run Saba news agency. The victims were killed in a strike on Saturday on six homes in Al-Shariya, a village east of Sanaa. Among the dead are 21 children and 10 women, the agency reported.

The Houthi-run Health Ministry said on Wednesday that at least 359 civilians had been killed and 780 wounded in what it described as the latest Saudi escalation. The Houthi armed forces said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia had carried out 93 airstrikes and missile attacks over the previous 24 hours, targeting sites including civilian and energy infrastructure across Houthi-controlled areas. These figures have not been independently verified.

Background: Ceasefire Shattered in July

Fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition reignited in July, shattering a 2022 UN-brokered ceasefire that had brought years of relative calm, after Saudi-backed forces struck Sanaa Airport in an attempt to block a Houthi plane arriving from Iran. Houthi forces retaliated by launching an offensive and captured territory along Yemen’s western coast and near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a key trade route.

In October, back-to-back attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed at least 20 people and wounded hundreds of others. Saudi-backed coalition forces fighting on behalf of Yemen’s internationally recognised government say 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 against the Houthis was moving towards its desired objectives, according to Yemen’s official pro-government Saba news agency. A meeting convened by the Defence Ministry was held in the Marib governorate to discuss the ongoing operations against the Houthis.

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