Yemen: Saudi-led coalition carries out a precision operation against Houthi war resources

The Saudi-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen carried out a targeted military operation against the Houthis on the morning of Sunday, November 1. Its aim, according to the coalition, was to neutralise vital resources the group uses to sustain its war effort.

The operation was announced by the coalition spokesman, Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki, in a statement published by Saudi Gazette. Al-Maliki described it as a precision operation and linked it to the Houthis’ continuing attacks on civilians both in Yemen and in Saudi Arabia, as well as their threats to navigation in the southern Red Sea. The Houthis, he added, exploit these resources for their military activities, in particular their ballistic-missile and drone programmes.

Al-Maliki made clear that the coalition will continue its operational measures, called on the Houthis to stop their actions and warned that they will suffer the consequences if they continue.

Escalation between Riyadh and the Houthis

The operation comes after days of continuous attacks and interceptions. On the night of October 29–30 the Houthis claimed responsibility for six attacks on oil facilities, airports and a military target in Saudi Arabia, although the next morning they said they had carried out no operation inside the kingdom. From Friday, October 30 to the morning of Saturday, October 31, Saudi air defence shot down drones over Riyadh, Medina and the Eastern Province, as well as a ballistic missile heading toward the south of the country. The Houthis deny targeting Islam’s two holy cities.

It is not the first time the coalition has announced strikes on the Houthi missile infrastructure. On October 15 al-Maliki said the coalition had destroyed 127 depots in mountainous areas in previous days, along with several launch platforms, presenting video of strikes on a ballistic-missile depot in Saada province and on tunnels in Sanaa. The Houthis, he explained then, use tunnel entrances and cavities in the mountains to launch their missiles.

On the humanitarian front, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced on October 29 that more than 281,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since the beginning of August, more than half of them in Taiz governorate, and noted that access for humanitarian aid is becoming increasingly difficult.