Houthi sites attacked

The Arab coalition fighting the Houthi militias in Yemen announced on Friday that it had launched a military operation in the north of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah against “legitimate military targets.” The coalition said it had destroyed four sites used to assemble remote-controlled boats and sea mines.

“These sites are used to carry out attacks and terrorist operations that threaten shipping lines and international trade in the Bab Al Mandab Strait and the southern Red Sea,” coalition spokesman Col Turki Al Maliki said in a statement. The destruction of hostile sites helps protect the freedom of maritime navigation, Al-Maliki said, adding that the operation abides by international law.

“The Houthi terrorist militia is using the governorate of Hodeidah as a base from which to launch ballistic missiles, drones, and booby-trapped remote-controlled boats, as well as indiscriminately deploying naval mines, in a clear violation of international humanitarian law and in violation of the provisions of Stockholm Agreement and the cease-fire agreement in Hodeidah,” he said. The coalition warned civilians to stay away from the targeted locations for their own safety. On Thursday, the coalition intercepted and destroyed a Houthi boat laden with explosives in the Red Sea.

“The coalition’s naval forces detected an attempt by the Iranbacked terrorist Houthi militia to carry out an act of aggression and terrorism in the southern Red Sea using an unmanned, rigged boat ... launched from Hodeidah governorate,” Al Maliki said. He added that the foiled attack represented a threat to regional and international security and the safety of maritime routes and international trade. The Houthis have carried out scores of attacks against Saudi Arabia using drones and ballistic missiles.

Recently, leaders from around the Arab world condemned last Saturday’s drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Aramco refineries in the Eastern Province. Saudi Cabinet strongly condemned the attacks on two Saudi Aramco facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais and reaffirmed the Kingdom’s ability to effectively deal with such attacks and their impact.