Saudi-led coalition air strikes hit Yemen grain port and 'Houthi military targets'

Saudi-led coalition air strikes hit Yemen grain port and 'Houthi military targets'
A number of targets have been hit by Saudi Arabia, including a grain port and missile and drone production facilities.
2 min read
22 March, 2021
A number of sites across Yemen were hit by the Saudi-led coalition [Getty-file]

The Saudi-led coalition has launched a series of airstrikes across northern Yemen on Sunday, hitting targets identified by Riyadh as having links to the Houthi military, according to reports by Reuters.

Targets were struck in the port of Salif on the Red Sea Coast, Marib, Hajjah province, and the capital Sanaa.

According to the United Nations, the airstrikes hit grain ports north of Hodeidah, which are controlled by the Houthis, in addition to a warehouse and living quarters owned by a food production company. 

"Local authorities and company management stated that six injured workers were transferred to local medical facilities for treatment," said the UN in a statement.

The Houthi ministry of commerce and industry described the attack on the grain port as "economic warfare against the Yemeni people".

The port of Salif was designated as a neutral zone on the Red Sea, after UN-brokered agreements signed in Stockholm in 2018 between Yemen's warring parties.

Saudi airstrikes also struck an alleged assembly plant for Houthi missiles and drones in Sanaa and parts of Marib. 

The Marib area has seen heavy fighting recently as the Iran-backed Houthi movement push to capture the gas-rich area, which is under the control of government forces. 

Read more: Can European arms companies be held liable for war crimes in Yemen?

The Saudi-led airstrikes were seen as a response to a recent Houthi drone attack an oil refinery in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. 

The Saudi-led coalition has been engaged in fighting against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels since 2015. The fighting has killed tens of thousands of people and left millions of people at risk of famine. 

The Biden administration has been attempting to renew peace talks and put an end to the fighting, but so far, without success. 

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