Play store
Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces carried out airstrikes on the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa as fighting intensified between the Iran-aligned rebels and forces backed by Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis, meanwhile, claimed to have attacked an Aramco facility in the Saudi capital Riyadh using ballistic missiles and drones.
In a statement on X on Saturday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the attack was a “precise and direct” operation targeting Aramco. He claimed the strikes caused a fire at the facility.
Saudi authorities did not report any attack, while state oil giant Aramco did not comment on the cause of a fire. Large plumes of smoke and flames were seen near an Aramco facility in Riyadh on Saturday.
Fighting has also intensified in Yemen’s southwestern Taiz province. The internationally recognised Yemeni government claimed that 1,540 Houthi fighters were killed or wounded over a 24-hour period.
Yemeni military spokesman Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Najili said government forces had carried out 474 operations targeting Houthi positions, supply lines, command centres and military capabilities. He said fighter jets, drones, artillery, missiles and rocket launchers were used.
Separately, the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government said early Sunday that its forces had conducted 97 “precision” operations against Houthi positions in the Tor Al-Baha and Taiz fronts.
Al-Najili claimed that at least 260 Houthi fighters had been targeted and 44 military vehicles destroyed or disabled in the operations.
The renewed fighting has also displaced large numbers of civilians. Yemen’s Executive Unit for Displaced Persons Camps Management said at least 198,000 people had been displaced by September amid the latest escalation.
Taiz has emerged as the province hosting the largest number of displaced people. According to the unit, 97,529 people from 13,925 families are currently living across 15 districts of the province.
Yemen’s conflict began after the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014 and established control over much of northern Yemen. A fragile ceasefire that began in 2022 broke down in July, leading to renewed fighting.
In mid-September, the Houthis also seized control of the port city of Mokha and strategic islands around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a key global route for oil shipments.
