Houthi rebels attack and kill Saudi and Yemeni civilians

Sana/Riyadh – In the past 24 hours, six civilians, including two Saudi nationals, were killed in rocket attacks by Houthi rebels in Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Marib province. The Houthi rebels have threatened to intensify the rocket and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia. The Houthi rebels’ actions that killed Saudi and Yemeni civilians are being criticized worldwide. On Sunday morning, the military alliance of Saudi and Arab allies attacked and destroyed a large stockpile of weapons of the Houthi rebels.

Houthi rebels fired three missiles at Saudi Arabia’s southern province of Jizan on Friday night. Two people were killed, and seven others were injured when a rocket hit a shop in the town of Samtah. Spokesman of the Houthi rebels, Brigadier General Yahya Saria, claimed responsibility for the attack. He also threatened to launch further attacks if the Saudi and Arab allies continued their attacks on the Houthis.

Houthi rebels launched a missile attack in the Al Jubah area of Yemen‘s Marib province in the next few hours. Four locals were killed, and six others were injured, including children. The Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for this attack as well. Repercussions of these attacks are seen at the international level.

The US embassy in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, has strongly condemned attacks by Houthi rebels. In its statement, the US embassy said, ‘The attacks by Houthi rebels are prolonging the civil war and endangering the lives of civilians in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It also threatens the safety of 70,000 Americans in Saudi Arabia.’ Saudi Arabia’s Arab allies, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, and Jordan, have criticized the actions of Houthi rebels.

In response, Saudi and Arab military forces launched a series of attacks on Houthi rebel strongholds in Yemen on Sunday morning. The Saudis claimed that they had destroyed a large stockpile of weapons of the Houthi rebels. Last week, Saudi Arabia claimed to have destroyed a Houthi rebel base in Yemen’s capital, Sana.

Meanwhile, the fierce conflict has been raging in Yemen for the past six years between the Hadi government, pro-Saudi and Houthi rebels. More than two lakh, 33 thousand people have been killed and displaced lakhs. Eleven months ago, Houthi rebels intensified their attacks to gain control of the fuel-rich province of Marib.

According to information released five days ago, Houthi rebels have doubled their attacks on Saudi and Yemeni in 2021 compared to last year. Iran is claimed to be backing the Houthi rebels. It is feared that this indirect war between Iran and Saudi Arabia will intensify further.