Tensions between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia: reciprocal strikes in Yemen and Saudi Arabia

Between the rebels and Saudi Arabia, tensions are intensifying. The Houthis of Yemen, supported by Iran, announced that they had struck the international airport of Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on Monday October 5. These attacks, carried out in particular using drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, according to the military spokesperson of the Houthis, Yahya Saree, also affected "the Aramco refinery in Rabigh", as well as military sites and airports in the south of the country. Strong explosions sounded Monday evening above Riyadh, the Saudi capital, AFP journalists also reported.

For its part, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced Monday that it had struck “military targets” in Al-Hodeida, a major Red Sea port under Houthi control. Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Malki wrote on

In a press release, Turkey and Pakistan, linked by a mutual defense pact with Saudi Arabia, also announced that they would send military forces to the kingdom, the target of regular attacks by Houthi fighters from Yemen. After a meeting in Riyadh, the three countries agreed to move "immediately to putting into practice the mutual defense agreement", signed in August in Mecca.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres declared himself "deeply concerned" by the "sharp escalation of fighting" between the two parties, according to his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric.