Yemen expands Saudi Arabia siege; Aramco and Saudi ports within Sanaa’s reach

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - International Service: The Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper announced, citing informed sources, that these forces have added dozens of new vital targets in Jizan and Najran to their military targets. Tuesday’s attack, carried out by a number of drones in response to violations of Saudi airspace in the provinces of Saada and Hajjah, is part of a series of operations that began two weeks ago and have targeted Saudi oil facilities owned by Aramco from Jizan to Najran.

 

Yemeni sources announced that Sanaa has put Aramco, with all its facilities, installations, oil tanks, crude oil pipelines and export ports, on its list of targets. They warned that “Saudi Arabia’s stubbornness and refusal to implement Yemen’s legitimate demands will make it pay the price in its oil heartland.”

 

The sources noted that Sanaa’s forces will continue to isolate Saudi ports in the Red Sea and will prevent Saudi ships from passing through the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait until Riyadh lifts its naval and air blockade of Yemen.

 

On the other hand, Yemeni maritime sources in Hodeidah reported an increase in international traffic in the Bab al-Mandab Strait to about 30 ships per day, stressing that the Navy and Coastal Defense Forces in Hodeidah have not allowed any Saudi oil or non-oil ships to pass through the strait in recent weeks, and that monitoring and tracking operations against Saudi ships and tankers in the Red Sea continue.

 

On the other hand, a Yemeni source told Al-Akhbar that the number of ships sailing under the "non-Saudi" flag in Bab al-Mandab has recently increased.

 

He added that international insurance companies have required many ships to fly flags that reduce security risks in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

 

The source warned that "all the alternatives that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has adopted to reduce the pressure of the Yemeni maritime blockade, whether by bypassing the Cape of Good Hope or moving north towards the Mediterranean, will not be safe if the armed forces decide to move to the second stage of the "blockade against blockade" equation."

 

He explained that the blockade of Yemen has prevented 85 percent of the Kingdom's oil exports to Asia from passing through the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is considered the shortest route between Asia and Europe.

 

These sources announced that Sanaa has expanded the scope of the Saudi naval blockade from the south of the Red Sea to its north, and that this blockade has extended beyond the Red Sea and into the Arabian Sea.