Yemeni Forces Warn of Retaliation After Saudi Strike on Sanaa Fuel Facility

By Staff, Agencies

The Yemen Petroleum Company’s facility in al-Sabaha, west of Sanaa, contained no petroleum products and had no military value, according to a company source cited by Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree.

The statement came after Saudi Arabia threatened to target the Yemen Petroleum Company and the central al-Sabaha station in the Yemeni capital on Tuesday.

Yemen’s official SABA news agency later reported that Saudi aggression struck the company’s facility in the Bani Matar district, west of Sanaa.

Saree subsequently announced that the Yemeni Armed Forces had confronted Saudi-backed combat formations targeting Sanaa, without providing further details on the clashes.

The Yemeni Armed Forces had warned Saudi Arabia earlier Tuesday that any attack on the capital would be met with what Saree described as a “harsh and painful response” against Riyadh.

Saree also called on employees and civilians near facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco to evacuate, declaring that the sites were “legitimate targets” for Yemeni forces if Saudi Arabia proceeded with attacks on Sanaa.

The warning specifically included the Aramco oil facility in Dammam and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

The Yemeni Armed Forces said these sites would be targeted in response to any Saudi attack on facilities in the Yemeni capital.

The Yemeni Armed Forces reiterated that any Saudi assault on Sanaa would trigger retaliation against Riyadh under what they described as an “escalation for escalation” equation.