Saudi-led coalition forces have said they intercepted suspected Houthi drones over Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh region and Eastern Province, as the UN Security Council agreed to extend sanctions on the Iran-allied group.
Major General Turki al-Maliki, the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, announced the interceptions of suspected Houthi drones on Thursday, in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted oil infrastructure and military assets in the kingdom, including a pumping station on the East-West Pipeline with a drone as well as the Yanbu oil facility on the Red Sea.
Riyadh says it has rerouted about 4 million barrels of crude per day via its East-West Pipeline to Yanbu, equivalent to about 4 percent of global supply.
Saree further claimed 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 their forces had targeted the Saudi Aramco headquarters in the capital, Riyadh, but rejected as a “grave falsehood” a Saudi assertion that the group had targeted the kingdom’s Mecca region on Wednesday.
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, where ways to enhance coordination and integration between various military units that are part of the Dawn of Yemen offensive were also discussed.
On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) 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.
UNSC members called on “all parties to refrain from escalatory actions and to resolve differences and disputes through negotiation”, while also backing the territorial integrity of both Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
“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,” the UNSC statement said.
The resolution emphasised that measures taken for the purpose of maintaining sanctions “shall not apply to humanitarian assistance or supplies for basic needs of civilians, without negatively affecting legitimate trade activities”.
“The council sanctions are merely a means, not an end in themselves,” said Ambassador Fu Cong, China’s envoy to the UN, who hoped that “the situation in Yemen will de-escalate as soon as possible”.
On Thursday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) 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”, OCHA said.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is pressing the European Union to adopt an EU Parliament resolution to designate the Ansar Allah Houthi movement as a “terrorist organisation”, according to the Reuters news agency, citing sources familiar with the drive.
But 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, according to Reuters.
