Yemen civil war escalation (Houthi-Saudi conflict)Page 2 of 4
Fighting in Yemen between Houthi forces and Saudi-backed government forces has intensified, sending refugees fleeing across the Red Sea and into Djibouti. The UK and US are providing military support to Saudi-backed forces, while hospitals report being overwhelmed. Houthi attacks on international shipping and warnings about threats to Saudi holy sites have widened the conflict's regional stakes.
Houthi media reported that Saudi strikes killed 11 people in Yemeni capital Sanaa on Saturday, shortly after the Saudi-led coalition fighting them said it had intercepted two missiles targeting Saudi cities.
The Houthis’ Al-Masirah outlet reported a series of “Saudi enemy air strikes” targeting Sanaa, including one on a house that killed at least four people and wounded several others.
A separate strike at a residence building for cement factory workers in the Sanaa governorate killed six women...
Oil prices rose on Friday, with Brent crude touching a more than five-month high, after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked concern over further disruption to energy supplies from the Middle East.
Brent crude futures gained $1.40, or 1.2 per cent, to $114.57 a barrel by 1138 GMT (4:38pm PKT), having earlier reached $115 for the highest level since May 4. US West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.48, or 1.5pc, to $100.95.
The Brent benchmark is on track for a third consecutive weekly gain, of 4.2pc, while WTI is poised to finish 0.5pc down on the week.
Saudi Aramco on Thursday ordered the evacuation of its headquarters in Dhahran on the Gulf near Bahrain, Reuters reported, as fighting intensified between the world’s largest crude exporter and Yemen-based Houthis.
“The market remains concerned about a potential escalation, which, in a worst-case scenario, could trigger renewed supply disruptions,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo, adding that volatile oil flows and elevated freight rates have left the market undersupplied.
Clashes between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government have raged since the Houthis pushed towards Bab el-Mandab, a shipping chokepoint at the mouth of the Red Sea.
“The key factors to monitor now are the extent of actual disruption and the time needed to restore operations, as these will ultimately determine how much of a supply risk premium the market is willing to pay,” said XS.com analyst Linh Tran. “If attacks persist and delay deliveries, elevated prices will have a firmer foundation.”
An oil spill from a tanker was detected off the coast of Umm Al Quwain, prompting containment operations and environmental assessments, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Climate Change and Environment said on Friday.
The ministry did not say what caused the spill, and authorities have not identified the tanker involved.
In Libya, an oil pipeline valve from the Hamada and Tahara oilfields to Zawiya port was shut, leading to a reduction in production at both fields, the head of the National Oil Corporation told Reuters on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the first Russian diesel bound for the US since a surprise agreement between Moscow and US President Donald Trump is aboard a tanker heading for New York, ship-tracking data showed today.
Trump announced the deal this month as part of his efforts to bring down soaring diesel prices ahead of US midterm elections next month.
Turkiye will host an R-4 and an R-4+E-3 meeting of foreign ministers in Istanbul on October 23, the Turkish foreign ministry said on Thursday.
The R-4 group, which comprises Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye, emerged in March and has been focusing on regional security and mediation efforts between the United States and Iran.
The E-3 group is a trio of European powers — France, Britain and Germany — that was set up more than 20 years ago to advance diplomatic coordination over Iran’s nuclear programme.
The Foreign Office in Islamabad has yet to comment on the planned meetings and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s participation.
A Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters that the seven countries would meet in the R-4+E-3 format for the first time at Turkiye’s initiative as wars involving Iran, Yemen and Ukraine threaten shipping routes and regional security.
The ministers are expected to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the latest situation in the Strait of Hormuz, developments related to Yemen, efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, and opportunities for closer cooperation between the regional and European countries, the source added.
Fidan is expected to emphasise the need for a diplomatic solution to the war between the United States and Iran, the importance of freedom of navigation in the straits of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab, and reiterate Turkiye’s support for Saudi Arabia’s security against attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement signed by Islamabad, Ankara, and Riyadh, they said.
Fidan will also tell counterparts that Turkiye has been working to stop the war in Ukraine from spreading to the Black Sea, pointing to the regional security risks posed by the conflict, the source said.
Two people were killed and eight were injured in an attack on Wednesday evening on King Fahd International Airport in Saudi Arabia's eastern oil city of Dammam, Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said on Thursday.
U.S. diplomatic missions across the Middle East have issued a new round of warnings to Americans amid attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants against Saudi Arabia.
United Arab Emirates will reportedly resume payments to Yemeni forces as gains by Iran-backed Houthi fighters alarm Gulf state rulers
Yemen civil war: what sparked latest escalation and who is involved?
The United Arab Emirates has agreed to re-enter the Yemen conflict by resuming payments to some government forces fighting Iran-aligned Houthis in the south, according to sources in Yemen. In return, Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide air cover for the anti-Houthi force.
The new cooperation agreement is the first tangible signs that the deep rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia over Yemen’s future is starting to be healed – if only because the advance by Houthi forces across Yemen has alarmed all the rival Gulf state rulers.
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Several major sporting events in Saudi Arabia have been cancelled or postponed as a result of repeated deadly attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels against the Kingdom's airports and infrastructure. FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks with Guy Barton, Visiting Fellow at Lancaster University and co-creator and co-host of The FootPol Podcast.
A Saudi foreign ministry official on Thursday accused Iran of encouraging the Houthis in the latest escalation of their fight with the kingdom, adding that it continues to arm and train the group.
“Iran continues to arm, train and support the Houthi militia in violation of UN security council resolutions,” Dr Rayed Krimly, deputy minister for public diplomacy at the foreign ministry, said during a virtual briefing with reporters.
“We think that the escalation by the Houthis at this latest stage of the conflict is encouraged by Iran,” he later said.
The official said the kingdom however remained in communication with Iran, even if Tehran appeared unwilling to offer concessions.
“We continue to have direct communications with Iran,” Krimly told reporters.
“Overall, it doesn’t seem yet that the Iranians are able to provide the necessary concessions for a solution.”
The official went on to accuse the Houthis of refusing to meet in Oman in recent weeks as fighting ramped up between the two sides.
“At the beginning of this escalation, we asked them to meet in Muscat, Oman and they refused,” he added.
“This was the last communication which happened a few weeks ago.”
The world’s top crude oil exporter has in recent days come under sustained attack, including a strike on Riyadh’s international airport that was the deadliest in years, as the war with the Houthis dramatically escalates.
Yemen’s civil war reignited in July after a UN-brokered truce collapsed, months into a wider Middle East war that has rocked the region and roiled energy supplies and markets.
The conflict in the country has caused what the United Nations calls one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, leaving most of the nation’s population dependent on aid.
The Saudi-led coalition has fought the Houthis since 2015 after they seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa and forced out the internationally recognised government from the city, until a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022.
Saudi-led coalition says Houthis attempted to attack dozens of Saudi facilities
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said on Thursday that the Houthis had attempted to attack dozens of Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities.
Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said at a press conference that the Houthis had launched 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month, killing 17 people and wounding 333 others.
The coalition also said Houthi attacks on Abha airport, in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni border, had killed three people and wounded 28.
Maliki said the Houthis had acquired advanced military technology with the help of “regional actors,” including ballistic missiles, drones and explosive-laden fast boats.
The spokesperson also said the coalition had destroyed 127 weapons storage facilities and launch platforms in Yemen’s mountainous areas.
He called on the Houthis to immediately halt operations targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, and said the group should read the coalition’s statement carefully and “between the lines”.
Shortly after the coalition’s statement, the Houthi military spokesperson said Saudi airspace and airports were unsafe, renewing a warning to airlines while excluding airspace over the holy cities of Makkah and Madina.
By Timour Azhari and Menna AlaaElDin
RIYADH, Oct 13 (Reuters) - An administrative building belonging to Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco in the eastern city of Dhahran was attacked, causing a limited fire, the Energy Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday as fighting between Yemen'sIran-allied Houthis and the kingdom intensified.
Authorities responded to the incident late on Tuesday and took necessary measures, the ministry said, adding that there were no injuries or deaths.
