Conflict & Security
Saudi Arabia says Houthis will face consequences
Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that Yemen's Houthis would face consequences for what it called their crimes, as the confrontation between Riyadh and the Houthi movement escalated.
Houthi media earlier reported that Saudi Arabia struck an oil facility west of Sanaa after the Saudi-led coalition ordered civilians to evacuate the site. An AFP correspondent in Sanaa heard an explosion.
The Houthis' Al-Masirah TV said “Saudi aggression” had targeted the Yemen Petroleum Company's Al-Sabaha station near the Houthi-held capital. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki had earlier told civilians to leave the station “for their own safety”, signalling an imminent operation there.
The Yemen Petroleum Company said the Al-Sabaha facilities did not currently contain petroleum products and that targeting them would not affect fuel stocks or supply chains.
Earlier Tuesday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree warned that any targeting of Sanaa would bring what he called a “tough and painful response”. The Saudi-led coalition has backed Yemen's internationally recognised government since 2015 in its war against the Houthis.
Update
Saudi Arabia vowed that the Houthis would face consequences for what it called crimes.
Source note: AFP news report published on 13 October 2026 at 15:42:55 UTC.
Update
Many civilians queued at fuel stations in Sanaa after the evacuation warning, fearing shortages, according to an AFP correspondent.
The Yemen Petroleum Company said the Al-Sabaha facilities currently contained no petroleum products.
The Yemen Petroleum Company said targeting Al-Sabaha would not affect fuel stocks or supply chains and that supplies were available in safe locations in sufficient quantities.
Source note: AFP news report published on 13 October 2026 at 14:48:22 UTC.
Update
Houthi media reported that Saudi Arabia struck the oil company site in Al-Sabaha, west of Sanaa.
An AFP correspondent in Sanaa heard an explosion.
Source note: AFP news report published on 13 October 2026 at 14:09:19 UTC.
Update
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree named Riyadh's airport, an Aramco refinery in Riyadh and Aramco's headquarters in Dammam as targets if the Saudi-led coalition strikes a Sanaa oil facility.
Source note: AFP news report published on 13 October 2026 at 13:41:26 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The source item did not give the full Saudi statement or specify which acts Saudi Arabia was calling crimes.
Source
AFP news report published on .