Houthis Attack ARAMCO Facility in Riyadh

Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they launched a drone strike on an ARAMCO oil refinery in the Saudi Arabian city of Riyadh on Wednesday. The attack started a small fire without causing major damage to the facility. No casualties were reported, and the facility’s operations were not impacted. ARAMCO facilities have suffered Houthi attacks multiple times in recent months, including an attack on a Saudi oil tanker.

Saudi officials have yet to comment on the attack, but ARAMCO officials said the fire was caused by an operational incident, not an attack. Regardless, Houthi missile attacks in Saudi Arabia are common. Saudi’s defense batteries shoot down most of the missiles, but a few have landed and caused damage to airports in several southern towns in Saudi Arabia. A Houthi missile launched in March killed an Egyptian in Riyadh, the first and only death in Riyadh since Saudi involvement in the Yemen Civil War began in 2015.

Human Rights Watch condemns the missile launches because they indiscriminately target civilians. Most of the airports are exclusively civilian airports and are near civilian-dominated areas rather than near military bases. Long-range missiles used by the Houthis are also unguided, so they cannot distinguish between civilians and military personnel.

Iran routinely supplies arms and money to the Houthis, possibly to draw attention away from Iran’s activities in Syria. A few months after the Houthis gained control of Yemen’s capital Sana’a in 2014, Saudi Arabia intervened on behalf of Yemen’s government as a means of countering the Houthi rebels. With U.S. backing, Saudi Arabia formed a coalition of Arab states in order to conduct airstrikes on Houthi positions while utilizing Yemen and United Arab Emirates soldiers on the ground.

Despite being well-equipped, the Arab coalition has struggled against the Houthi militia. The coalition has been hindered by guerilla warfare tactics, such as raids on convoys and land mines. Because of this, the war has raged on, although the coalition has finally made some headway after launching the controversial operation into Hodeidah last month.

The coalition considers Hodeidah to be the key to forcing a negotiated settlement with the Houthis and want them to fully withdraw. However, the Houthis refuse to leave unless the coalition stops its advance and allows for shared control of the city.

Meanwhile, the Arab coalition temporarily paused the operation to allow the United Nations to address humanitarian concerns by attempting to negotiate a peaceful resolution. During the pause in fighting, the Houthis attacked areas of government control and launched missiles and drone strikes on Saudi positions. The coalition has since resumed the operation. It is unclear how much port infrastructure is damaged, but over 35,000 families have had to flee Hodeidah since the offensive began.

The Houthis claim to exercise self-defense against the Saudi coalition, but according to Emirati sources, Houthi artillery recently killed 15 civilians despite there being no coalition forces nearby. UN sources also reported that the Houthis banned international aid groups from operating in Yemen. Houthi officials deny the claims and say they just need clearance to get through security.

Three years of war have not resulted in a resolution to the conflict and its continuity has led to Houthi attacks directly on Saudi soil. A quick resolution is improbable; however, defeating or settling with the Houthis is essential to reestablishing the government and ensuring humanitarian aid reaches distressed civilians.