Saudi-led Arab Coalition Conducts Retaliatory Airstrikes Against Yemen's Houthi Rebels

Airstrike on Yemen's Capital Sana'a...No Casualties Confirmed
Houthi Rebels Hint at Additional Retaliatory Attacks...Concerns Over Escalating Conflict

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Saudi Arabia-led Arab coalition reportedly carried out airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. This is interpreted as a retaliatory airstrike in response to the Houthi rebels' attack on the United Arab Emirates (UAE)'s international airport and oil facilities. With the Houthi rebels announcing further retaliatory attacks against these airstrikes, concerns are rising that the conflict between the two sides will intensify.

According to foreign media including Al Jazeera on the 17th (local time), the Saudi-led Arab coalition conducted airstrikes on Sanaa, the capital of Yemen currently occupied by the Houthi rebels. The exact number of casualties has not yet been confirmed. Yemen's Al Masirah TV also reported the Saudi-led coalition's airstrikes on Sanaa. The Houthi rebels are said to have declared that they will carry out additional retaliatory attacks against the UAE in response to the airstrikes.

This attack is known to be a retaliatory airstrike following the Houthi rebels' drone attacks earlier that day on the UAE capital Abu Dhabi's international airport and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) oil facilities. The Houthi attack caused an explosion at the ADNOC oil facility, killing two Indian workers and one Pakistani worker, and injuring six others.

The United Nations, the United States, and other Western countries condemned the Houthi rebels' attack on the UAE. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the Houthi attack during a phone call with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs, according to the UAE state news agency WAM. Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, also stated, "The United States will hold the Yemeni rebels accountable in cooperation with the UAE and others."

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss described the attack as a "terrorist attack" and condemned it "in the strongest terms," while French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian criticized the rebels' actions as a threat to the security of the UAE and other regions.