প্রকাশ: 26/03/2022
Yemen's Houthis said
they launched attacks on Saudi energy facilities on Friday and the Saudi-led
coalition said oil giant Aramco's petroleum products distribution station in
Jeddah was hit, causing a fire in two storage tanks but no casualties.
A huge plume of black smoke could be seen rising over the
Red Sea city where the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is taking place this weekend,
an eyewitness said.
The Iran-aligned Houthis have escalated attacks on the
kingdom's oil facilities in recent weeks and ahead of a temporary truce for the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The coalition has repeatedly said it is exercising
self-restraint in the face of the attacks, but launched a military operation in
Yemen early on Saturday saying it aimed to protect global energy sources and
ensure supply chains.
A coalition statement on state media on Friday said the fire
had been brought under control. Flames could still be seen in live footage
aired by Saudi-owned Ekhbariya television channel.
The Saudi energy ministry said the kingdom strongly
condemned the "sabotage attacks", reiterating that it would not bear
responsibility for any global oil supply disruptions resulting from such
attacks, state news agency SPA reported, citing an official in the ministry.
The ministry blamed Iran for continuing to arm the Houthis
with ballistic missiles and advanced drones, stressing that the attacks
"would lead to impacting the Kingdom's production capacity and its ability
to fulfil its obligations to global markets". Teheran denies arming the
Houthis.
There was no immediate comment from Aramco.
The coalition said its Saturday airstrikes targeted
"sources of threat" in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa and the
Red Sea port city of Hodeidah. L2N2VT00H
The attacks came as Jeddah was hosting the Formula One Saudi
Arabian Grand Prix. The dense black smoke could be seen from the race circuit,
a Reuters witness said.
Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali told drivers and team
bosses that the Grand Prix would go ahead as planned, according to a source
familiar with the matter.
"VITAL FACILITIES"
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group
launched missiles on Friday at Aramco's facilities in Jeddah and drones at the
Ras Tanura and Rabigh refineries, and said it had also targeted "vital
facilities" in Riyadh, the capital.
Saudi state media earlier said the coalition had foiled a
string of Houthi drone and rocket attacks. Saudi air defences also destroyed a
ballistic missile launched towards Jizan, which caused a "limited"
fire at an electricity distribution plant.
The Houthi escalation comes as the United Nations special
envoy tries to secure a temporary truce for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan
that starts in April, and ahead of Riyadh's hosting Yemeni parties for
consultations later this month.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the
attacks on ally Saudi Arabia, and said the United States would continue to work
with Riyadh to strengthen its defences while working for a durable resolution
to the conflict in Yemen.
"At a time when the parties should be focused on
de-escalation and bringing needed life-saving relief to the Yemeni people
ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, the Houthis continue their destructive
behaviour and reckless terrorist attacks striking civilian
infrastructure," Blinken said.
Last weekend a Houthi assault on the kingdom caused a
temporary drop in output at a refinery and a fire at a petroleum products
distribution terminal. On 11 March, the group targeted a refinery in Riyadh,
causing a small fire.
The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the
Houthis ousted the Saudi-backed government from the capital, Sanaa, in late
2014.
The conflict, widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi
Arabia and Iran, has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed Yemen to the
brink of famine. The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system and foreign
aggression.
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