The coalition responds to Houthi rebels’ attacks targeting an Aramco site in Saudi Arabia
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Alaina
- . April 16, 2021
- . Update: April 16, 2021 6:51 pm
Houthi rebels in Yemen, backed by Iran, claimed to have attacked with drones and missiles the city of Jazan in southwestern Saudi Arabia, including a site of oil giant Aramco and Patriot air defense systems.
Following the attack on Aramco, according to Reuters, a fire developed of and the Arab coalition destroyed five ballistic rockets and four explosive-laden drones driven by Houthis toward the Kingdom. The attacks targeting Jazan are the latest in a series of terrorist actions against Saudi Arabia by Houthis.
Jazan University was one of the objectives as well as other civilian sites protected under international law, coalition spokesman Turki Al-Malki affirmed in a comment to the Saudi Press Agency, stressing that the actions can be considered as war crimes. The strikes began from the Saada governorate in Yemen, Al-Malki explained, stressing that the attack is a continuation of the Houthis’ systematic and deliberate hostile efforts to target civilians. The Houthis, who took over the capital of Yemen, Sanaa, in 2014, have been internationally condemned for their actions against the Kingdom.
The Saudi authorities stressed that the Houthi aggression is not only against the Kingdom and its economic facilities but rather the center of the global economics, the security of its exports and its oil stocks, while also hitting global maritime navigation.The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has consistently supported efforts to solve the war in Yemen peacefully.
Last week, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman held consultations with Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed and reemphasized that the Kingdom promotes all efforts to end the conflict, implement a cease-fire, alleviate the humanitarian crisis, and reach a political resolution that guarantees peace and prosperity for the brotherly people of Yemen.
Last month, Riyadh announced a peace initiative to help end a war that has ravaged Yemen for the last six years. The initiative, which has received wide support, includes a cease-fire supervised by the UN, the reopening of Sanaa airport, and new consultations to reach a political solution to the conflict. Restrictions on the Red Sea port of Hodeidah would also be facilitated, allowing access for ships and load.
The UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, welcomed the deal and requested all parties to take this chance to achieve peace and work with his special envoy, Martin Griffiths, to proceed in good faith and without preconditions. Yemen’s Information Minister, Moammar Al-Eryani, demanded members of the international community with open channels to the Houthis to use their leverage to encourage it to sever ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran and convey to the Saudi-led peace process.Al-Eryani suggested that these countries must put pressure on the Houthis to stop their daily crimes and violations against civilians in the areas under their control.
A Yemeni news agency reported in March that the Houthis had temporarily accepted the Saudi initiative to end the war in Yemen, but were asking unchecked flights from Sanaa airport in the capital to countless destinations before providing their final approval to the action plan proposed by Saudi Arabia and return to dialogue.
