In brief

• Air strikes near Sanaa, Yemen, killed at least 11 people, according to the Houthi-linked Saba agency, which blamed Saudi Arabia.
• The article places the strikes within the Yemeni civil war, which has killed more than 150,000 people and has escalated between Riyadh and the Houthis this year.
• On Sunday, a Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh, where explosions were heard and an Aramco building was reportedly damaged.

Strikes near Sanaa

Saba is linked to the Houthi movement, which controls the Yemeni capital (Pri útokoch pri Sane v Jemene zomrelo najmenej 22 ľudí, tvrdia húsíovci – HNonline.sk). The Houthis blamed Saudi Arabia for the attack. Riyadh has not responded, and rescue operations were reported to be ongoing in the area.

Earlier strikes in Taiz

On Friday, Houthi sources said air strikes hit a market in Taiz province in the southwest of the country and killed at least 30 people. The Saba report on the Sanaa strikes came a day later.

Background to the conflict

Saudi Arabia entered Yemen's civil war over a decade ago and has since led a coalition opposing the Houthis (Rijádem otřásly výbuchy – Novinky.cz) (Koalice vedená Saúdskou Arábií zneškodnila dvě střely, Rijádem otřásly výbuchy – Seznam Zprávy). A truce in 2022 eased the conflict.

Escalation this year

Tensions between Riyadh and the Houthis rose sharply in July. Forces of the internationally recognised Yemeni government bombed the international airport in Sanaa in retaliation for the arrival of an Iranian aircraft. The Houthis then imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia. Over recent months, Houthi attacks have damaged several airports and oil installations in Saudi Arabia, and Riyadh has answered with strikes on Houthi positions.

Riyadh under threat

On Sunday, a Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles that the Houthis had fired at Riyadh. Explosions were heard in the Saudi capital, and AFP reported that the attack damaged a building belonging to the state oil company Aramco. Civil defence authorities issued a warning for the Riyadh area shortly before the blasts and later lifted it. The Houthis had not commented on the missile claim.