Yemen Warns Saudi Arabia of Retaliation as Regional Tensions Escalate
Saudi Arabia Faces Warning From Yemen as Conflict Risks Regional Escalation
YEMEN: A senior Yemeni official has warned that Saudi Arabia could face repercussions from the escalating tensions in Yemen, accusing Riyadh of fueling the conflict by backing allied forces.
Abdulaziz bin Habtor said on Sunday that the consequences of what he described as Saudi Arabia’s involvement in Yemen’s internal conflict could eventually reach Saudi territory. He stressed that Yemen would not accept its territory being turned into a battlefield and warned that Saudi interests could also be affected by the ongoing tensions.
Bin Habtor said Yemen would take appropriate measures to protect its security and sovereignty in response to what he described as the mobilisation of forces and attempts to establish new military equations in the region.
The warning came amid media reports that Yemeni armed forces had carried out a drone attack targeting an Aramco refinery in the Jizan region of southern Saudi Arabia.
According to the reports, the attack was described as a response to alleged Saudi violations of Yemen’s airspace and sovereignty in the provinces of Saada and Hajjah.
Saudi Civil Defense authorities reportedly activated warning sirens in the Jizan region following the reported attack, while field reports indicated that air-raid alerts were heard in the area.
The Jizan refinery, operated by Saudi state-owned oil giant Aramco, is among the company’s major industrial facilities in southwestern Saudi Arabia. The complex has a refining capacity of around 400,000 barrels per day and forms part of a broader industrial development project in the region.
The large-scale facility, which has reportedly attracted investment of about $21 billion, includes oil-refining operations along with power generation and petrochemical facilities. It is considered one of Aramco’s integrated modern refining complexes.
The reported escalation comes amid heightened tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, raising concerns over the potential expansion of the conflict beyond Yemen’s borders.
