Saudi and Houthi Forces Launch Missiles
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths has advocated for a ceasefire, which may be put in danger as a result of the recent attacks. (Flickr)
Yemeni Houthi forces launched a combined drone and missile strike against oil processing facilities in two locations in Saudi Arabia on March 7. The Saudi Energy Ministry released a statement claiming that no one had been killed or injured, and there had not been any damage to property at the site in Ras Tanura, though an oil storage tank near Jeddah had been seriously damaged. Both sites are far from the Yemeni border and Houthi-occupied territory.
As a result of the attack, oil prices suddenly spiked above $70 a barrel for the first time in 14 months, though prices had been gradually rising close to that mark as a result of less supply released to the market.
In retaliation, Saudi forces bombed the capital of the Houthi movement, Sanaa, in the first such attack on the city in months. Military officials declared that only military installations were targeted. As of now, there is no information about injuries or deaths.
The Houthis are a Shia faction vying for control in the Yemeni Civil War, a conflict that began in 2015. In the final days of the Trump administration, the group was declared a terrorist organization, though this decision was quickly reversed by President Joe Biden. The delisting of the group removes hurdles for humanitarian groups to deliver aid in occupied territory and acts as a sign of goodwill in Biden’s attempt to negotiate a ceasefire.
Iran, which also embraces Shia Islam, supports the Houthis partly out of religious unity and partly to deny their main regional adversary, Saudi Arabia, an ally. As such, international observers believe the Yemeni Civil War is only one front of the larger rivalry between those two countries. Saudi Arabia and its allied coalition have led a persistent campaign of airstrikes, which a Human Rights Watch report claims are responsible for the majority of civilian deaths in the war.
Negotiations for a ceasefire have not been successful, though in past Saudi Arabia expressed its willingness to accept one UN proposal on the terms that the Houthis establish a demilitarized zone along their mutual border. Both Houthi and Yemeni government representatives have met with UN officials; Special Envoy Martin Griffiths said he was extremely encouraged by their willingness to cooperate.
However, these recent events may put the prospects of a mutual ceasefire in jeopardy. While Biden announced he would no longer support Saudi offensives in Yemen, he specified that the United States will still assist in defensive operations in the country. In response to the attacks, Press Secretary Jen Psaki declared the administration’s “alarm” at the new frequency of attacks, stating that “escalating attacks like these are not the actions of a group that is serious about peace… We’ll look for ways to improve support for Saudi Arabia’s ability to defend its territory against threats.”
At the same time, the Houthis launched a surprise offensive in government-held Marib province, sparking some of the deadliest fighting since the war’s inception. A spokesman for the group declared that their forces would continue the war until the entire country is liberated.