The Saudi-led coalition spokesman says the Yemeni armed group is ‘attempting to divert attention’ from its losses.
The Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognized government has dismissed as “misleading” claims by Houthi rebels that they targeted an Aramco oil facility near the capital Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki issued the rejection Saturday, asserting that the Iran-aligned group is “attempting to divert attention from the scale of the losses and the growing public anger against them,” according to remarks carried by Saudi media outlet Asharq Al-Awsat.
‘Chaos and devastation’
The exchange comes as Yemeni government forces reported executing 257 precision targeting operations against Houthi positions, movements, and military capabilities on Saturday alone, according to Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, spokesman for government forces. Initial estimates indicate at least 700 Houthi fighters were killed in the operations.
Al-Maliki further stated that the Houthis’ “ties to external agendas” have brought “chaos and devastation to Yemen,” adding that setbacks in Taiz “drive them to seek illusory victories.”
Early Sunday, the coalition announced its forces had conducted 97 “precise targeting operations” against Houthi reinforcements on the Tor al-Baha front and the Taiz axis, employing warplanes, drones, artillery, missiles, and snipers.
Hostilities between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces have intensified since a fragile 2022 truce collapsed in July, displacing hundreds of thousands of people. In mid-September, the Houthis seized the strategic port city of Mocha and islands in the Bab al-Mandeb strait — a critical artery for global oil shipments — before anti-Houthi forces managed to stabilize front lines.
Yemen has remained mired in conflict since the Houthis captured the capital Sanaa in 2014, forcing the internationally recognized government to relocate to Aden.