Yemen Warns Saudi Arabia of Severe Retaliation Over Attacks on Civilian Infrastructure

By Staff, Agencies

Yemen’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has strongly condemned continued Saudi airstrikes targeting civilian infrastructure and non-military facilities across the country, warning that the attacks will provoke painful and far-reaching retaliation against strategic targets deep inside Saudi Arabia.

In a statement issued late Sunday, the ministry stressed that the ongoing attacks would not go unanswered and warned that facilities belonging to those financing and supporting the aggression could face retaliatory strikes.

“These constant crimes and attacks will not go unpunished, and will certainly draw painful responses that will hit the depth of Saudi Arabia, particularly the installations belonging to parties funding the aggression,” the ministry declared.

The statement emphasized that Yemen is facing a decisive struggle and what it described as an imposed war of aggression, accusing Saudi Arabia of disregarding international principles and humanitarian law despite its responsibility as the aggressor.

The Yemeni Foreign Ministry reaffirmed that the country’s rights and demands are legitimate and cannot be subjected to negotiations or political bargaining.

It further warned that continued attacks against civilian facilities would place critical infrastructure throughout Saudi Arabia within the range of potential retaliatory operations by Yemeni Armed Forces.

“The incessant targeting of [Yemeni] civilian facilities will place all vital and critical installations inside Saudi Arabia in a databank of targets that Yemeni Armed Forces will pound in retaliation,” the statement said.

The warning followed a Saudi airstrike on the Ras Isa fuel terminal along Yemen’s Red Sea coast in the western province of Hudaydah, which reportedly left seven people injured.

In a separate incident, several civilians were wounded after Saudi border guards allegedly opened fire on a residential neighborhood in the Shada’a district of Saada province in northwestern Yemen.

The escalation comes after the Sanaa government announced a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia on July 20, describing the measure as a response to what it called an unjust and oppressive siege imposed on Yemen for nearly 12 years.

Since then, Yemeni Armed Forces have reported several operations targeting vessels associated with Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, alongside retaliatory attacks against targets deep inside the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a military intervention against Yemen in March 2015, imposing a blockade and beginning a comprehensive military campaign that received military, political and logistical support from the United States and several Western countries.

The prolonged conflict has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and caused widespread destruction and a severe humanitarian crisis across the country.

Despite years of military operations and the extensive support provided to the Saudi-led coalition, Riyadh has failed to achieve its declared objective of restoring a government in Sana’a aligned with its interests.

The Yemeni Foreign Ministry’s latest warning signals a further escalation in tensions, as Sanaa reiterates that continued attacks on civilian infrastructure will be met with retaliatory measures targeting strategic facilities inside Saudi Arabia.