A Saudi-led coalition struck a fuel depot outside Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Tuesday as fighting with the Houthis intensified near a key route for global energy shipments, according to a Reuters report published by gCaptain. The Houthis had threatened retaliation against Saudi oil facilities if the capital came under attack.
The coalition confirmed hitting Yemen Petroleum Company’s Sabah central station and other locations after warning civilians to avoid the depot. It said sites in Sanaa, Hodeidah and Dhamar supported Houthi missile and drone operations against Saudi Arabia and commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Yemen Petroleum Company said the station contained no petroleum products at the time and that the strike had left oil reserves and supply chains unaffected.
Before the strikes, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree had identified Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran and an oil refinery in Riyadh as possible targets for retaliation. The group also repeated warnings for oil workers in Saudi Arabia to avoid potential targets. Its attacks on Saudi airports over the preceding week included a ballistic missile strike on Riyadh airport on Saturday that killed 13 people, the report said.
The escalation follows Saudi Arabia’s resumption of military operations in support of Yemen’s internationally recognised government. That campaign sought to reverse Houthi advances last month along the Red Sea coast towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. According to the report, the southern entrance to the Red Sea has become increasingly important for Saudi and global energy supplies since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of the Iran war in February.
A government offensive launched a week earlier had pushed Houthi forces away from the area immediately adjoining Bab el-Mandeb, but the group remained positioned nearby and had advanced around Taiz this month. Saudi Arabia has sought greater allied backing for its campaign and protection against missile and drone attacks. Turkey pledged support on Tuesday, while Washington had so far resisted Saudi requests to enter the conflict directly, gCaptain reported.