Yemen’s Houthi movement has threatened to target three key Saudi facilities if the Saudi-led coalition launches military action against the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, escalating tensions between the two sides.
In a statement on Tuesday, the group named Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dammam, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and an Aramco refinery in the Saudi capital as potential targets.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group considers Saudi oil facilities legitimate military targets under the current circumstances. He also urged foreign experts, engineers and workers at Saudi oil installations to move to safe distances to avoid potential danger.
The group also called for heightened caution among airlines, passengers and airport personnel at aviation facilities and air routes it had previously identified as potential targets.
The latest threats followed a warning from the Saudi-led coalition earlier on Tuesday, urging civilians to evacuate the central station of the Yemen Petroleum Company in the Al-Sabaha area of Houthi-controlled Sanaa. The coalition said the precaution was intended to prevent casualties ahead of a planned military operation.
The Houthis responded by warning people to stay away from the three Saudi facilities, saying they would be targeted if Saudi forces struck the sites they had identified in Sanaa.
The exchange of warnings has heightened concerns over a further escalation of the conflict involving the Houthis, the Saudi-led coalition and Yemen’s internationally recognised government.