Saudi Arabia carried out air strikes on fuel depots near Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, and at the port of Ras Isa on 13 October, The Guardian reports. Later that day, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted a missile heading towards the city where oil company Saudi Aramco has its headquarters. The reports come amid further Houthi threats against Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure.
According to the newspaper, a series of strikes targeted the Central Sabaha fuel depot on the western outskirts of Sana’a. Before the raids, a Saudi spokesperson urged civilians to leave the area being targeted. Yemen’s oil company said its tanks were empty at the time of the bombing. That is the company’s account, rather than an independently confirmed assessment of the facility.
The Guardian also reports strikes on fuel depots at the port of Ras Isa in Hodeidah. The Guardian’s report does not give a casualty toll or the full extent of the damage from the 13 October raids.
Missile interception and threats against Aramco
According to a Saudi-led coalition statement cited by The Guardian, fragments of the intercepted missile fell in a residential area. Both the account of the interception and the location where the debris landed come from the coalition. The newspaper notes that Aramco had not issued an official comment or confirmation concerning the incident.
A Houthi spokesperson, meanwhile, threatened attacks on Aramco facilities in Riyadh and urged people nearby to leave the area. The threat itself does not mean those attacks took place.
The Guardian describes the exchange of attacks as a further escalation in the conflict between Riyadh and the Iran-backed Houthis. Deutsche Welle highlights the conflict’s asymmetric nature: Houthi attacks on airports and energy infrastructure put pressure on Saudi Arabia despite its military superiority. The latest reports again place fuel and oil facilities at the centre of this confrontation.
