Explosions and accusations rippled across Yemen on Wednesday after Houthi authorities said an attack on an oil company site left two people dead, blaming Saudi Arabia for the strike.
There was no immediate Saudi confirmation.
According to Yemen’s Houthi-run health ministry, the fatalities occurred when an oil company in the Red Sea province of Hodeidah was hit.
Earlier, Houthi media reported that Saudi Arabia struck an oil facility near Sanaa, saying the Saudi-led coalition had ordered civilians to leave the area before the attack.
An AFP correspondent in Sanaa said an explosion was heard, while a breaking news banner on the Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV declared that “Saudi aggression targets the oil company in Al-Sabaha, west of Sanaa”.
The Saudi-led coalition had previously issued an evacuation warning for civilians around the Al-Sabaha station near the Houthi-held capital. The site belongs to the Yemen Petroleum Company (YPC), and the coalition’s alert came after a spate of deadly Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia, particularly on Riyadh airport.
After that warning, AFP’s correspondent said crowds hurried to fuel stations across Sanaa, forming long lines as residents braced for potential shortages.
The YPC, however, moved to calm fears, saying it had taken precautions for any “emergency” and was prepared to “meet people’s needs”.
“Al-Sabaha facilities currently do not contain any stock of petroleum products, and therefore, targeting them will not affect fuel stock or supply chains,” the company said in a statement.
It added that supplies for consumption were being held “available in safe facilities and locations, and in sufficient quantities” to cover demand for extended periods.
The Iran-backed Houthis have been battling the Saudi-backed Yemeni government in a civil war since 2014, but the conflict has intensified since the US began its eight-month war on Iran.
In recent weeks, the group has stepped up attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the vital Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The Houthis launched attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport in recent days, killing 13 people, wounding more than 300, and closing the skies above the Saudi capital.
The group had earlier warned it would respond in a “harsh and painful” way to any strikes on Sanaa. Spokesperson Yahya Saree said possible targets could include the Saudi Aramco headquarters in Dhahran and an oil refinery in Riyadh.
Trump says Houthis ‘behaving badly’
Saudi Arabia’s cabinet, meeting under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said the kingdom would not tolerate threats to national security or to maritime traffic through the Red Sea.
In a statement carried by the official SPA press agency, the cabinet said the kingdom “will not allow its security or freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait to be threatened”.
It also warned that the Iran-backed Houthis “will face the consequences of their crimes and repeated attacks” on Saudi airports, holy cities and economic facilities, after several deadly strikes on the kingdom.
US President Donald Trump said Houthi militants were “behaving very badly” as consequences of the US-Iran war spread across the broader Middle East.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Trump said he “might” ask Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to step in and back Saudi interests.
“President Erdogan, I think, would do as I ask,” Mr Trump said.
Mr Erdogan said Ankara would stand by the kingdom, the Turkish presidency said, but did not outline any specific new support.
Turkey and Pakistan signed a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia this summer, though Turkey still needs to ratify the treaty in parliament.
