Saudi Arabia has accused Yemen’s Houthi rebels of launching attacks on civilian and economic sites in the kingdom, wounding at least 73 civilians, including women and children.

The accusation came on Tuesday as fighting intensified in Yemen, where the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government has launched a counteroffensive to retake territory from the Iran-backed Houthis.

Major-General Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, said in a statement that the Houthi attacks had hit civilian and economic sites in the provinces of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jizan and Najran.

He did not specify when the attacks took place.

Al-Maliki described the attacks as a “dangerous escalation” and a “blatant violation” of Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty, warning that they posed a direct threat to the kingdom’s citizens and residents.

He said the coalition would take “all necessary operational measures” to confront the attacks and act against the sources of the threat.

The Saudi Ministry of Energy said in a separate statement that several “energy sector facilities and installations” in southern areas of the kingdom were hit early Tuesday.

The attacks wounded a “number of citizens and residents” and sparked “fires at several locations”, forcing a “temporary halt in some operations”, the statement said.

The Houthis made no immediate comment.

Earlier, the group had accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out an air strike on a prison in al-Hazm, in the northern al-Jawf governorate, and killing at least seven people. It said the “ongoing Saudi aggression against Yemen will not go unpunished”.

Riyadh has not commented on the allegation.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year.

Fighting between the two sides largely halted after a United Nations-brokered truce in 2022, but resumed following the war that the United States and Israel launched against Iran in February.

Hostilities restarted in July when the Houthis launched missiles and drones towards Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport following an attack on Sanaa airport. Later that month, the Houthis announced a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia and began attacking Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea.

On Thursday, the Houthis launched a major offensive, attempting to advance through western Taiz and southern Hodeidah towards the port city of al-Makha (Mocha) and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea.

Fighting was initially concentrated west of Taiz and south of Hodeidah, but has now spread to the provinces of al-Dhalea, Marib, al-Jawf and al-Bayda, as the government seeks to stretch Houthi forces and increase pressure on the group.

The World Health Organization said some 1,078 people have been killed or wounded since August 24, while more than 21,000 people have been displaced since Thursday. (Al Jazeera)

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Sri Lanka has decided to deploy a Navy Vessel at the Red Sea to prevent Houthi Rebels from attacking ships, blocking trade along the sea route, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said. 

Addressing the ‘Shilpa Abhimani 2023’ event in Colombo on Wednesday (Jan 03), the President said Sri Lanka will deploy a Navy vessel at the Red Sea for a cost of Rs. 250 million every fortnight. 

He pointed out that prices of goods may increase due to the various wars underway, especially in Ukraine and Palestine. 

The President further said ships have also stopped using the Red Sea route due to continuous attacks by Yemen’s Houthi Rebels and the rerouting of these ships around South Africa will also indirectly increase prices of goods. 

President Wickremesinghe said therefore, a decision has been taken for Sri Lanka to join the mission to protect against attacks by the Houthi Rebels.

The President’s statement comes in the backdrop of a final warning issued by the United States and 12 allies to Houthi rebels on Wednesday to cease their attacks on vessels in the Red Sea or face potential targeted military action.

According to foreign media, the Yemen-based militants have carried out at least 23 attacks in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza since Dec. 19.

However, the Iranian-backed Houthis have responded with defiance, vowing to continue targeting vessels they consider linked to Israel.

The situation in the strategically vital southern Red Sea is now at a stand-off. 

The Bab al-Mandab strait is a critical waterway through which almost 15% of global trade passes. If attacks continue, the fear is that fuel prices will rise and supply chains will be damaged. (NewsWire)

President Ranil Wickremesinghe states that Sri Lanka will dispatch a naval vessel to the Red Sea to assist in security operations. The President states that delays caused to the shipping lines due to Houthis attacks will result in further increases in the costs of living. pic.twitter.com/iabsmtWrah

— Dinouk Colombage (@Dinouk_C) January 4, 2024

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