Houthi drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and UN Security Council sanctions extension, Digi Mart USA News: Saudi-led coalition forces 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, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, announced the interceptions 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 and 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 also claimed a military cargo plane at Sharurah airport near Yemen’s border was targeted with a drone, and that a ballistic missile launched towards Khamis Mushait airbase scored a direct hit.
The Houthi spokesperson said forces had targeted the Saudi Aramco headquarters in 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 for Yemen’s internationally recognised government said they continue to confront the Houthis across all frontlines.
On Thursday, the UN Security Council unanimously voted to extend Yemen-related sanctions for one more year, including asset freezes and travel bans, while demanding an end to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. The mandate for the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen was also extended.
The resolution condemns the Houthis’ military escalation, their maritime and cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia, and their threats to commercial shipping, and it states that sanctions measures shall not apply to humanitarian assistance or basic civilian needs.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said more than 333,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since early August, including more than 24,000 in the past week. Reuters, citing sources, reported that Saudi Arabia is pressing the European Union to designate the Ansar Allah Houthi movement as a terrorist organisation, while European officials told Reuters the bloc is concerned this could undermine a future peace process.
