Houthis hit Saudi Arabia again after seizing Yemen Red Sea strongholds

Houthi rebels said they launched new missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia after seizing key positions on Yemen's Red Sea coast. The advances have rattled markets, pushed civilians towards Djibouti and sharpened fears of renewed war.

In Short

• Government forces withdrew from Mokha, calling the west coast collapse painful
• A projectile near al-Tawwal injured two people and damaged a mosque
• Oil prices rose despite rebel claims commercial shipping remains unaffected

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said overnight that they had carried out fresh missile and drone attacks on neighbouring Saudi Arabia, as Yemen's Saudi-backed government said it would fight back after the rebels' swift advance along the Red Sea coast. A senior Yemeni official described the collapse of government positions in key areas as "painful and regrettable".

The Houthis' capture in recent days of a key port city and an island on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an important shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, has unsettled markets and raised fears among Yemeni civilians of a return to devastating civil war. Even though the rebels have said other commercial shipping is not under threat, oil prices have risen again.

A Houthi military spokesperson, Brig Gen Yahya Saree, said in a statement that the group had targeted a military base in Sharurah province in Saudi Arabia's Najran region. He did not provide evidence or say when the attack took place.

Saudi civil defence said overnight that a projectile fell in al-Tawwal governorate near the border with Yemen along the Red Sea, injuring two people and damaging a mosque and several other buildings. It blamed the Houthis. The statement also said sirens sounded in Sharurah province, though no casualties or damage were reported there. There was no Saudi statement on Sunday about any new attacks targeting the Houthis, who have been striking Saudi oil infrastructure and shipping as part of a recently declared blockade.

In Yemen, Sultan al-Arada, a member of the ruling presidential council and governor of central Marib province, said government forces would return to the Red Sea coast and respond after people fleeing the Houthi advance told The Associated Press they had seen forces withdrawing and telling residents to run. In a televised interview aired late on Saturday, al-Arada said forces "are currently regrouping and will return to the battle in one form or another".

Al-Arada called the collapse of government forces in the port city of Mokha and elsewhere on Yemen's west coast "painful and regrettable". On Friday, a senior military official with Yemen's internationally recognised government blamed "lack of coordination" between Yemen's army and multiple allied militias, saying it gave the Houthis "a priceless opportunity". The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, also said they were shocked that the Saudi air force did not act to prevent the capture of Mokha, about 80 kilometres from the strait.

The rebels' rapid advance has dealt a major setback to Yemen's internationally recognised government and Saudi Arabia, which have been fighting the Houthis for 12 years, and it threatens the 2022 ceasefire. The advance also brings the Iran-backed rebels to within 32 kilometres of the US military base in Djibouti, across the Bab el-Mandeb. The base is the main US military facility in Africa, and Djibouti also hosts bases belonging to China, France and Japan.

Djibouti is already seeing the arrival of Yemenis making the dangerous crossing of the strait. The International Organisation for Migration said on Sunday that more than 2,000 people had reached Djibouti. Djibouti's Economy and Finance Minister Ilyas M. Dawaleh said on X that the country's navy, coast guard and other specialised agencies were carrying out rescue operations and providing emergency assistance. Overall, the latest attacks, territorial gains and fresh movement of civilians have deepened concerns over the conflict and security in the Red Sea region.

With PTI Inputs

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