Houthis launch missile at Jazan city

Saudi air defence forces intercepted and destroyed a Houthi missile launched at the southern city of Jazan on Friday, the Arab Coalition said.

Spokesman Col Turki Al Malki said the missile was fired from Yemen’s Saada provinces and aimed at residential areas.

“No casualties or damage were recorded when the missile was intercepted,” Col Al Malki said.

The Houthis claimed on the rebel-run Al Masirah TV channel that they had targeted a refinery of the Saudi state oil firm Aramco.

The attack came as the Iranbacked rebels suffer heavy losses in the province of Hodeidah, where coalition and government forces this week resumed a campaign to liberate the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

It is the entry point for up to 70 per cent of imports into the country but has been held by the Houthis since 2014.

The Saudi-led coalition resumed air strikes on Wednesday as the government’s Al Amalikah Brigades seized sections of the main road linking Hodeidah to Sanaa, Yemen’s rebel-held capital, cutting off a route for reinforcements and supplies.

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr Anwar Gargash, said on Friday that armed forces had almost encircled the rebels in Hodeidah.

Dr Gargash said the rebels were facing the consequences of their refusal to take part in UN-mediated peace talks in Geneva last week.

Those were convened by the UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths to try to find a political solution to the conflict, which began when the Houthis seized Sanaa in September 2014.

The coalition, which includes the UAE, intervened in March 2015 at the request of the internationally recognised government of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.