LAHORE MIRROR (AFP)– Yemen’s Houthis said Saudi Arabia struck an oil facility in Sanaa on Tuesday, after the Riyadh-led coalition told civilians to leave the surrounding area in its first evacuation order for the Yemeni capital since the war flared up again.
The Saudi-led coalition said military operations were conducted against “vital assets” used by the Houthis to wage war in Yemen.
In a statement posted on X, coalition spokesperson Major General Turki Al-Maliki says the targets included the Al-Sabaha central station in the capital Sanaa, underground fuel reserves and fuel tanks, and energy terminals in Hodeidah, Sanaa and Dhamar.
Earlier, the coalition’s spokesman said people should leave an oil facility belonging to the Yemen Petroleum Company on the western outskirts of Sanaa before it was attacked.
The Saudi-led coalition had not yet confirmed the reported strike.
Swiftly responding to the earlier coalition warning, the Houthis had issued a threat to target Riyadh’s international airport, a refinery, and an Aramco facility in Dammam if the strike went ahead.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces urge all citizens to immediately evacuate and move away from targets that our forces will strike should the Saudi enemy target,” military spokesman Yahya Saree wrote on X, identifying the three targets.
An AFP correspondent reported that many civilians in Sanaa, fearing shortages, rushed to queue in front of fuel stations after the coalition warning.
The Yemen Petroleum Company sought to reassure the public, saying it had taken all necessary precautions in the event of an emergency to “meet people’s needs”.
Petroleum stocks were “available in safe facilities and locations, and in sufficient quantities” to meet demand for long periods, it said.
Saudi Arabia was still weathering fresh attacks on Tuesday, with the coalition saying its forces intercepted three drones north of the kingdom’s capital Riyadh.
Many countries have issued travel warnings to their citizens in Saudi Arabia, most recently France, which told its citizens to avoid the airports in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam on Tuesday.
The Saudi coalition has supported Yemen’s government militarily against the Houthis since 2015 in a long-running civil war that has created a humanitarian crisis.
