Saudi Arabia announces the interception of a ballistic missile towards Riyadh, and raids on oil facilities in Yemen

Agence France-Presse reported that strong explosions were heard in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Wednesday morning, while the authorities sent a warning via telephone of a “hostile air threat,” before lifting it minutes later.

The authorities called on residents to act calmly, stay in homes or in safe places away from windows and doors, and follow civil defense instructions. The update did not provide details about the causes of the explosions or their repercussions.

The Saudi authorities had previously announced that four people were injured as a result of the falling debris of two missiles they intercepted over Riyadh, and a fire broke out in a building belonging to Aramco in Dhahran, east of the Kingdom, amid an escalation in mutual attacks between the Saudi-led coalition and the Ansar Allah group.

The Saudi Civil Defense said that the injured were two women, a man, and a child, and that the debris from the two missiles fired by the group caused limited damage to fifteen homes in the capital.

An official at the Saudi Ministry of Energy reported that an attack targeted an Aramco administrative building on Tuesday evening, causing a “limited fire,” without injuries or deaths.

Reuters quoted a source in the company as saying that a ballistic missile hit an office tower inside the Aramco headquarters complex in Dhahran, damaging its upper three floors.

Raids on oil facilities in Yemen

The attacks came after raids launched by the coalition, on Tuesday, on oil facilities in Sanaa and the Dhamar and Saada governorates, which it said were being used to supply the war effort of the Ansar Allah group and threaten Saudi Arabia and its waterways.

The raids included the Sabahah station of the Yemeni Oil Company on the outskirts of Sanaa, after the coalition called on civilians to evacuate it. The group's Al Masirah TV confirmed that the site had been targeted.

The group had vowed a “harsh and painful” response, and warned workers in Saudi oil facilities against approaching sites it said might be targeted.

These developments come after an attack on Riyadh International Airport on Saturday, which killed 13 people and suspended its operations, according to Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

Taiz faces supply shortages and rising prices

In Yemen, the International Organization for Migration said that restrictions on access to Taiz are hampering the entry of residents, basic supplies and humanitarian aid, and pushing commodity prices higher.

Ansar Allah fighters cut off a main road between Taiz and Aden last week. Government sources told Reuters that about 80,000 people fled the recent fighting.

A Taiz resident told the agency that the price of a bag of wheat rose from 42,000 Yemeni riyals to up to 60,000 within three days. A local official reported that the authorities are working to organize the distribution of available food stocks.