YEMEN’S Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Tuesday again blamed Saudi Arabia for airstrikes overnight that targeted areas along Yemen’s northern border with the kingdom and its western coastline. The rebel-run ‘al-Masirah’ satellite television said on Tuesday that two airstrikes hit the Houthi-held Red Sea island of Kamaran, while a third hit Qanawis district, 55 kilometers (34 miles) north-west of the port city of Hodeida. The station also reported airstrikes in the province of Jawf, which borders Saudi Arabia. ‘Al-Masirah’ blamed Saudi Arabia for the strikes, but didn’t provide further details. The rebels also said they shot down a Saudi drone over the Houthi stronghold province of Saada, which is in northern Yemen on the border with Saudi Arabia.

 

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia. The strikes came hours after Saudi Arabia sounded air raid sirens on Monday evening in the capital, Riyadh, and residents heard explosions. The Houthis also said they fired a ballistic missile towards King Khalid International Airport, which has been hammered by a string of deadly attacks in recent days. Meanwhile, Qatar’s emir on Tuesday called for closer security coordination among Gulf countries as the conflict between Houthis and Saudi Arabia escalates, following months of Iranian attacks across the region during its war with the US and Israel. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also called for stepped-up efforts to secure maritime routes in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. 

 

 

 

AS WORD came of Houthi rebels closing in, Weam Abdullah and her family decided it was time to leave their home in Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city. They had survived a yearslong siege by the rebels earlier in their country’s civil war, and they didn’t want to endure that again. The Iranian-backed Houthis - even as they escalate attacks on Saudi Arabia with a string of deadly attacks on the airport in the capital Riyadh - are trying to make a major gain in Yemen’s 12-year-old civil war by moving on Taiz, a prize they have long sought to capture. Their assault comes after the rebels’ lightning offensive last month that seized Yemen’s Red Sea coast, strengthening their hand to attack Saudi oil shipping and further throwing world energy prices into turmoil. Their advance has triggered fear among the more than 1 million residents of Taiz, located in the high rugged mountains of south-western Yemen. On a recent day, crowds mobbed groceries in the city center to buy up food and other essentials, fearing they will soon run out.