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Photograph: AFP/Getty Images     (saudi-arabia-strikes-strategic-oil-depots-near-yemen-capital.html#img-1)   View image in fullscreen       Smoke over Sana’a during a reported Saudi-led coalition airstrike on the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital on 9 October 2026. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images       (https://www.theguardian.com/world/saudiarabia) Saudi Arabia     Saudi Arabia strikes oil depots in Yemen as conflict with Houthis escalates   Civilians warned to leave target area near Sana’a before attacks following deadly strike on Riyadh airport         (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/patrickwintour) Patrick Wintour   Tue 13 Oct 2026 13.26 EDT  Last modified on Tue 13 Oct 2026 14.04 EDT   (mailto:?subject=Saudi Arabia strikes oil depots in Yemen as conflict with Houthis escalates&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/13/saudi-arabia-strikes-strategic-oil-depots-near-yemen-capital?CMP=share_btn_url) Share          (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=theguardian.com) Prefer the Guardian on Google          Saudi Arabia has launched a series of strikes on a strategic oil depot on the outskirts of Yemen’s capital Sana’a, in a fresh escalation of the conflict between Riyadh and the Iran-backed Houthi forces. Before the attack on Tuesday, a Saudi spokesperson warned civilians to leave the target area, in an apparent attempt to strike fear into the local population ahead of the biggest attack so far on Houthi energy infrastructure.  The Central Sabaha Station oil depot on the western side of the city contains large tanks that often hold substantial quantities of fuel derivatives, although the Yemeni Oil Company said its storage facilities were empty at the time of the attack. Houthi oil depots at the Ras Isa port in Hodeidah, the subject of Israeli attacks in 2024, were also struck in 10 waves of attacks apparently aimed at immobilising the Houthi army as it continues its push south, including towards the city of Taiz. Earlier the Saudis also struck what they believe to be a Houthi leadership hide-out in the Bani Mu’in area in the Razih border district, west of Saada governorate, northern Yemen. (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/12/why-are-the-houthis-attacking-saudi-airports-riyadh-yemen)  Why are the Houthis attacking Saudi airports and how are the missiles getting through?     Read more        The strike on the oil depot appeared to be the Saudi response to a Houthi (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/11/saudi-coalition-retaliation-houthi-attack-riyadh-airport) attack on King Khalid international airport in Riyadh on Saturday that killed 13 people and left 300 injured. The airport is closed until Saturday at the earliest, a blow to an economy that is trying to show its security makes the country a safe place to invest. A Houthi spokesperson responded to the attack on its oil storage by warning “all employees and citizens present near any facility affiliated with Aramco Petroleum in Riyadh to evacuate it and stay away from it, as it is a legitimate target for our forces”. The difference between the threats is that Saudi Arabia has complete air dominance over Yemen while the (https://www.theguardian.com/world/houthi) Houthis have to reply using drones and missiles which can be intercepted. Baraa Shiban, a Yemen specialist at the defence thinktank Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), warned “Saudi Arabia is struggling to respond to the Houthi’s improved arms technology. Until relatively recently Houthi missiles and drones fell in desert areas or if they got through were intercepted. They have learned how to deploy drones that fly lower and are smaller, and are less easy to detect. They are cheap and it does not take many to get through to be effective”. But the two sides’ dramatic threats to set ablaze the enemy energy infrastructure symbolised how the conflict is escalating rather than blowing itself out.       (A map released by the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition shows the targeted site of the Yemeni Oil Company and Al-Sabaha Central Station in Sana’a)   (saudi-arabia-strikes-strategic-oil-depots-near-yemen-capital.html#img-2)   View image in fullscreen       A map released by the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition shows the targeted site of the Yemeni Oil Company and Al-Sabaha Central Station in Sana’a. Photograph: @CJFCS.  Donald Trump complained that the Houthis were “behaving very badly” and said he would “never forget” their attacks, which he suggested were an attempt to influence the US midterm elections next month. But he stopped short of announcing any new military action. The latest phase of the conflict between the Saudis and the Houthis began last month after the rebels seized key areas along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical waterway for the transportation of Gulf oil and other goods at the southern end of the Red Sea off Yemen. This week, the Houthis have come closer to throttling the southern city of Taiz, drawing close enough to the city edges to fire rockets into residential areas. City leaders have made repeated appeals to the Yemeni government for military equipment while public health professionals warned of a shortage of medicines for patients in intensive care. Government-aligned forces sent reinforcement to the south-western district of Al-Mudarabba in Lahij governorate as well as the mountain district of Al-Waz’iyya. But anti-Houthi forces inside Yemen are not themselves united: a group known as the Southern Transitional Council has been taking a more prominent role in the fight against the Houthis – even though its main objective is to secede from the country’s north. On Tuesday, Aidarous al Zubaidi, the exiled STC leader, gave a rare address declaring “a popular mobilisation in defence of the south, and its national liberation project” – including by repelling the invading Houthi militia. Al Zubaidi, now based in Abu Dhabi, made clear he still supported a plan to eventually hold a referendum on the independence of South Yemen. Zubaidi’s organisation remains banned in Yemen and he has been charged with treason, but there are incremental behind-the-scenes talks under way testing whether the Saudi crown prince (https://www.theguardian.com/world/mohammed-bin-salman) Mohammed bin Salman is prepared to legitimise the STC and even permit Zubaidi to return. Reinstatement of the STC would be seen as a betrayal by the current Yemen president, Rashad al-Alimi, but his usefulness to Saudi Arabia is reduced if he does not have the same military forces at his disposal as Zubaidi.          Explore more on these topics (https://www.theguardian.com/world/saudiarabia) Saudi Arabia  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/yemen) Yemen  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/middleeast) Middle East and north Africa  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/houthi) Houthis  (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) Donald Trump  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/mohammed-bin-salman) Mohammed bin Salman  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran) Iran  (https://www.theguardian.com/tone/news) news    (mailto:?subject=Saudi Arabia strikes oil depots in Yemen as conflict with Houthis escalates&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/13/saudi-arabia-strikes-strategic-oil-depots-near-yemen-capital?CMP=share_btn_url) Share     (https://syndication.theguardian.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2026%2Foct%2F13%2Fsaudi-arabia-strikes-strategic-oil-depots-near-yemen-capital&type=article&internalpagecode=world/2026/oct/13/saudi-arabia-strikes-strategic-oil-depots-near-yemen-capital) (Reuse this content) Reuse this content                  More on this story                       More on this story                      (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/12/why-are-the-houthis-attacking-saudi-airports-riyadh-yemen)    ()      Why are the Houthis attacking Saudi airports and how are the missiles getting through?   (Monday, October 12, 2026 at 09:41 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 1d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/12/saudi-arabia-suspends-flights-latest-deadly-houthi-attack-airport)    ()      Saudi Arabia further suspends flights after latest deadly Houthi attack on airport   (Monday, October 12, 2026 at 11:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 1d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/11/saudi-coalition-retaliation-houthi-attack-riyadh-airport)    ()      Riyadh airport hit again after deadly Houthi missile attack, Saudi authorities say   (Sunday, October 11, 2026 at 06:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 2d ago           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/05/yemen-air-campaign-houthis-saudi-led-coalition)    ()      Air campaign against Houthis under way in Yemen, says Saudi-led coalition   (Monday, October 5, 2026 at 11:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 5 Oct 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/22/yemen-houthis-battle-strategic-red-sea-heights)    ()      Up to 169 killed in Yemen as Houthis battle for Red Sea coastal heights   (Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 09:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 22 Sept 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/21/houthis-seize-strategic-terrain-yemen-trump-calls-off-airstrikes-last-minute)    ()      Houthis move to seize strategic terrain after Trump calls off airstrikes at last minute   (Monday, September 21, 2026 at 12:14 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 21 Sept 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/20/middle-east-braces-for-more-violence-as-iran-claims-us-is-planning-to-renew-bombing-campaign)    ()      Middle East braces for more violence as Iran claims US is planning to renew bombing campaign   (Sunday, September 20, 2026 at 02:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 20 Sept 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/19/saudi-arabia-riyadh-airport)    ()      Thick smoke seen near Riyadh airport as Houthis claim attack on Saudi capital   (Saturday, September 19, 2026 at 08:21 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 20 Sept 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/18/yemen-anti-houthi-forces-inquest-military-collapse)    ()      Yemen’s anti-Houthi forces launch inquest into sudden military collapse   (Friday, September 18, 2026 at 10:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 18 Sept 2026                        Most viewed      Most viewed                                                               (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news) US news  (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/us-politics) US politics  (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/us-midterm-elections-2026) Midterms 2026  (https://www.theguardian.com/world) World  (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-crisis) Climate crisis  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/middleeast) Middle East   (https://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine) Ukraine  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