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SAUDI-YEMEN-CONFLICT
Yemen rebels claim Saudi strikes, threaten new attacks
SANAA, Feb 28, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels on Sunday
claimed the attempted strikes that targeted neighbouring Saudi Arabia
overnight and threatened more attacks, as fighting in the grinding civil war
escalates.
Huthi fighters have intensified operations against the kingdom as air
strikes by the Saudi-led military coalition pound rebel positions in the
north of Yemen, in a bid to stop their offensive to seize the government’s
last northern stronghold of Marib.
Years of war have already pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
Saudi Arabia — which has been backing the Yemeni government against the
rebels since 2015 — said Saturday it thwarted a Huthi missile that targeted
Riyadh.
“The operation was carried out with a ballistic missile and 15 drones…
targeting sensitive areas in the enemy’s capital of Riyadh,” said Huthi
spokesman Yahya al-Saree, according to the rebels’ Al-Masirah TV channel.
“Our operations will continue and will expand as long as the aggression and
seige on our country continues.”
Fragments of the missile scattered over several Riyadh neighbourhoods,
damaging at least one home but no casualties were reported, Saudi’s state-run
Al-Ekhbariya television said.
AFP correspondents in the Saudi capital reported hearing multiple loud
explosions, with state television footage showing the night sky light up with
a bright flash.
Separately, the coalition said it had intercepted six Huthi drones
targeting the kingdom, including the southern cities of Khamis Mushait and
Jizan.
Saree on Sunday claimed those attacks as well, warning residents in the
region to “stay clear from all military airports and sites.”
– ‘Catastrophe’ –
The Huthis have escalated cross-border attacks on the kingdom even after
the United States delisted the rebels as terrorists, reversing a decision by
the administration of former president Donald Trump.
The designation had been widely criticised by aid organisations, who warned
it would hamper their efforts to alleviate a humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
US President Joe Biden halted support to Saudi offensive operations in
Yemen’s war, which he called a “catastrophe” that “has to end”.
But he has also reiterated US support for Saudi Arabia in defending its
territory.
On Sunday, in the latest violence in Yemen, five civilians including a
child were killed when their home was destroyed in a bombardment near the
strategic rebel-held Red Sea port of Hodeida.
The warring sides traded blame over who was responsible, with the
government accusing Huthis of firing a mortar bomb, and the rebels saying the
explosion was caused by twin air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition.
Alongside the cross-border attacks, the Huthis are pressing ahead with a
offensive to seize the government-held Marib region, where some of the
country’s richest oil fields are found.
Hundreds of fighters from both sides have been killed in recent ferocious
fighting, government source say.
The Huthis now control most of the country’s north and the government has
been struggling to defend Marib province and the city, which lies some 120
kilometres (75 miles) east of the rebel-held capital Sanaa.
Yemen’s conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced
millions, according to international organisations, sparking what the UN
calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The UN on Monday hopes to raise $3.85 billion to support millions of
civilians and prevent famine in the country.
BSS/AFP/RY/1655hrs