Houthis Renew Strikes on Saudi Arabia as UN Security Council Extends Yemen Sanctions

The Saudi-led military coalition said on Thursday it had intercepted suspected drones launched by Yemen's Houthis over the Riyadh region and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The Houthis are an Iran-allied armed group fighting Yemen's internationally recognised government. The same day, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to extend Yemen-related sanctions by one year and demanded an end to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Strikes on oil and military sites

Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki made the announcement in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed the group had hit oil and military targets in the kingdom, including a drone attack on a pumping station on the East-West Pipeline and on the Yanbu oil facility on the Red Sea. Riyadh says it has rerouted about 4 million barrels of crude a day through that pipeline, equal to roughly 4 percent of global supply.

Saree also claimed a drone targeted a military cargo plane at Sharurah airport near the Yemeni border, and that a ballistic missile scored a direct hit on Khamis Mushait airbase. He said the group targeted the Saudi Aramco headquarters in Riyadh, but rejected as a "grave falsehood" a Saudi claim that it attacked the Mecca region on Wednesday.

Forces backing the Yemeni government say they continue to fight the Houthis on all frontlines. Yemen's Defence Ministry held a meeting in Marib governorate on coordinating units in the ongoing offensive.

UN decision and humanitarian toll

The sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans, and the mandate of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen was also extended. The resolution condemns Houthi attacks and threats to commercial shipping, urges all parties to avoid escalation and backs the territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It says the measures do not apply to humanitarian assistance.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said more than 333,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since early August, including over 24,000 in the past week.

According to Reuters, citing sources, Saudi Arabia is pressing the European Union to designate the Houthis a terrorist organisation, while European officials fear this could undermine a future peace process.