Saudi Arabia on September 8th threatened retaliation after a series of missiles from the Houthi forces in Yemen burned down many oil facilities and injured dozens of people. This is the most intense attack by the Iranian-backed rebel group in years.
According to Saudi Arabian authorities, the night attacks caused some oil facilities to be "temporarily" shut down and injured 73 people, a reminder of the danger that this group poses along the southern border of the kingdom.
The Houthi military spokesman said that this force has launched dozens of ballistic missiles. The attacks targeted Abha International Airport, King Khalid Air Force Base and facilities belonging to the state-owned oil corporation Aramco in Abha and Jizan.
Jizan is located on the Red Sea coast, just north of the Saudi Arabia - Yemen border, owning one of the largest oil refineries in the country with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day. According to maritime tracking company Kpler, this facility had been suspended for weeks until at least August 20 after previous Houthi attacks.
A source from the Ministry of Energy told Saudi News Agency (SPA) that "some facilities and works in the energy sector" in the South have been targeted. "The attacks caused fires in many locations, leading to the suspension of some operations," the source said.
The Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry declared that the country will "take all necessary measures to protect sovereignty", and requested the Houthi to stop attacks as well as attacks targeting Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea.
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition, which has fought against the Houthi on behalf of the Yemeni government since 2015, also said it would react. The coalition's Joint Forces Command affirmed that it would "take all necessary measures and actions to respond to threat sources and neutralize risks".
