The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced on Monday (February 13th) that it had destroyed a communications system it said was used for Houthi rebel drone attacks and located near the communications ministry in Sanaa.

Riyadh has been intervening in neighboring Yemen since 2015 to support pro-government forces against the Houthis.

Supported by the great rival of the Saudis, Iran, these insurgents control a large part of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.

"We have destroyed a communication system used to operate drone control stations," the coalition was quoted as saying by the official Saudi news agency SPA.

"The Houthis are using the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in Sanaa for hostile operations," she added.

An AFP correspondent in Sanaa confirmed the coalition airstrikes targeting several areas of the capital, around the ministry.

It was not possible to determine the existence of victims immediately.

Civilians warned in advance

This is the first time that this anti-Houthi alliance has targeted a civilian ministry, having so far only attacked the Ministry of Defense.

According to the coalition, Monday's raids came in "response" to last Thursday's attack on Abha airport, located in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen.

The coalition then announced "firm measures" after twelve civilians were injured by fragments of a drone that fell on this airport, the attack foiled by the Saudi defense having been claimed by the Yemeni rebels.

“The Houthis are using state ministries to launch hostile operations,” justified the coalition, which had warned civilians beforehand to evacuate the premises.

377,000 dead

The war in Yemen has seen an escalation in violence in recent months as the coalition has stepped up anti-Houthi offensives.

The rebels have for their part multiplied the attacks against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a pillar of the coalition.

According to the UN, at least 377,000 people have been killed in seven years of conflict in Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, facing hunger and disease, going through one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

With AFP

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