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Houthi militiamen in the back of a truck retreat from the city of Hodeida on December 29, 2018 (image for illustration). REUTERS / Abduljabbar Zeyad

The military coalition led by Saudi Arabia on Thursday destroyed four sites in the port city of Hodeida.

" The intensive raids on Hodeida are a serious escalation likely to blow the Swedish deal, " said Mohammed Abdessalem, one of the Houthi rebel leaders, quoted by their Al-Massirah TV channel on Friday. As a reminder, concluded in December, this agreement provides for a truce and redeployment of forces in this strategic port city of western Yemen.

" Coalition held responsible "

" The coalition will be held responsible for the consequences of this escalation and the UN's position on this will be watched carefully, " he warns.

On Thursday, the Riyadh-led coalition announced Thursday that it had launched a military operation against the Houthis. It destroyed four sites north of Hodeida used by rebels to assemble remotely operated boats and marine mines, according to a statement released by SPA, the Saudi official news agency. Strikes came in retaliation for attacks on Saudi oil sites during the night of 13 to 14 September 2019.

"Legitimate military targets"

According to the Saudi coalition, these sites were " legitimate military targets ". Shortly before this operation, she claimed to have foiled a booby-trapped attack.

(with AFP)