Agencies | Sanna:
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed that Saudi Arabia carried out 26 attacks on areas under their control over the past 24 hours, as fighting between the Iran-aligned group and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government continues to intensify, the AFP news agency reported.
The Houthis on Friday also claimed that Saudi attacks on territory under their control had reached 300 over the past week, with strikes reported across several areas held by the group.
The claims could not be independently verified.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s internationally recognised government, backed by Saudi Arabia, said its forces had killed 30 Houthi fighters and wounded more than 60 in clashes in the Al-Waziiyah district of Taiz province. Fighting has intensified this week along several front lines.
The latest escalation comes amid renewed clashes between government forces and Houthi fighters, with the conflict raising concerns over regional stability and maritime security.
Tens of thousands of people took part in a rally in Sanaa on Friday in support of the Houthis and in opposition to Saudi Arabia, according to reports.
The Houthis have made territorial gains in recent fighting, including in areas along Yemen’s Red Sea coast near the strategically important Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a major maritime route linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Earlier in the week, at least five people, including three children, were reported killed in attacks linked to the escalating hostilities, according to reports from both sides.
Saudi Arabia said one person was killed in Taif governorate after a Houthi drone was intercepted. Houthi-linked media, meanwhile, reported deaths following Saudi strikes in Taiz and the town of Abs.
The UN Security Council has condemned continued Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and expressed concern over the wider escalation.
In a statement issued on Friday, Council members said the Houthis’ attacks on Saudi Arabia, threats to international shipping in the Red Sea and advances towards the Bab al-Mandeb Strait risked widening the conflict and affecting maritime security and international trade.
The Council also expressed concern over reports that at least 125,000 people had been displaced across Yemen since the beginning of September.
It called for an immediate halt to the Houthi attacks, expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed the kingdom’s right to self-defence under international law.
The escalating conflict has also drawn increased attention from the United States.
According to reports, U.S. officials met Houthi representatives at the U.S. Embassy in Muscat, Oman, following the group’s territorial advances and concerns over the safety of shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The Houthis reportedly assured U.S. officials that vessels not linked to Saudi Arabia would not be targeted.
Washington has so far refrained from directly striking Houthi positions, despite calls from Riyadh for stronger U.S. military action, amid wider concerns over opening another front in the region.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Friday that the bloc’s Red Sea naval mission, Operation Aspides, had raised its alert level as the security situation deteriorated.
“Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are unacceptable and sabotage the global economy,” Ms. Kallas said in a post on X, according to Reuters.
She said she had spoken with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud about diplomatic efforts to end the fighting in Yemen and restore freedom of navigation in regional waterways.
The latest developments have added to concerns over the humanitarian situation in Yemen and the security of one of the world’s key maritime corridors, with international efforts continuing to prevent the conflict from widening further.
