Thick black smoke and flames erupted around an oil refinery in the Saudi capital as the Houthis launched a fresh attack, furthering fears of escalating oil prices around the world.
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Houthis → erupt → world
Hours after the facility was struck on Saturday morning, the Saudi military launched counter-strikes on the Iran-backed group in Yemen.
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military → strike → Yemen
The oil refinery belongs to state-owned oil giant Aramco, which is south of Riyadh.
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which → belong → Riyadh
Neither the Houthis nor Saudi authorities have yet commented on the incident.
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Houthis → comment → incident
The circumstances remained unclear, though the Houthis have claimed several attacks on facilities belonging to Aramco, majority-owned by the Saudi state, in recent months.
uncertain
Houthis → remain → months
Firefighters were seen attempting to extinguish the enormous flames at the energy giant's Riyadh refinery, located to the south of the capital, while ambulances and police vehicles were stationed nearby.
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ambulances → see → capital
The Houthis have recently launched several attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia in retaliation for Riyadh backing the internationally recognised government in Yemen's ongoing civil war.
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Riyadh → launch → war
Experts say this latest incident could drive another spike in global energy prices.
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incident → say → prices
Petrol and diesel have already risen rapidly, while natural gas - used for heating homes and generating electricity - has almost doubled in the UK and Europe since July.
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gas → rise → July
Thick black smoke and flames erupted around the Aramco oil refinery in Riyadh as the Houthis launched a fresh attack, furthering fears of escalating oil prices around the world
The oil refinery belongs to Saudi state-owned oil giant Aramco, which is south of Riyadh
Experts say the latest Houthi strike on a Saudi oil refinery could drive another spike in global energy prices, which have been rising amid simmering tensions in the Middle East
Notably, the Houthi strike came just a day after the G7 nations announced the release of diesel and crude stocks to ease surging fuel prices amid the simmering tensions.
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nations → erupt → tensions
The G7 - comprising France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States - will deploy 100 million barrels of reserves over the next four months 'with a frontloaded substantial diesel release within the first 20 days,' the group's leaders said in a joint statement on Friday.
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leaders → comprise → Friday
Within hours of the oil refinery being set alight on Saturday, Houthi rebels reported dozens of strikes on Yemen's capital, Sanaa.
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rebels → set → capital
The foes have traded attacks since the Houthis seized all of Yemen's Red Sea coast and took control of the Bab al-Mandab strait in a lightning offensive.
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Houthis → trade → offensive
Houthi-affiliated channel Al-Masirah TV reported that 'Saudi enemy aircraft' hit Sanaa with 26 strikes, after earlier reporting 'Saudi aggression' against the Yemeni capital, without providing details on the targets or casualties.
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aircraft → affiliate → targets
In Sanaa, eyewitnesses reported hearing loud explosions and seeing warplanes firing missiles on the city.
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warplanes → report → city
The Houthis' Al-Masirah channel also reported missile strikes on the telecommunications network in Yemen's northwestern governorate of Saada, one of the group's strongholds.
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channel → report → strongholds
It comes after the Houthis said Saudi Arabia bombed the Yemeni capital itself on Thursday night for the first time since renewed fighting broke out between the two sides in July.
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fighting → come → July
After several years of calm, Yemen was plunged back into civil war, pitting the Iran-backed Houthis, who control most of northwest Yemen including Sanaa, against Yemen's internationally recognised government.
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who → plunge → government
The government, based in the city of Aden, controls much of the country's south and east - a region that is larger, but much less populated.
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that → base → south
Hostilities were reignited after four years of a fragile truce when Iran sent a plane to Sanaa carrying a Houthi delegation.
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Iran → reignite → delegation
The flight did not seek authorisation from Saudi Arabia, contravening a practice in place for a decade.
Riyadh retaliated with strikes on Sanaa airport, and in response the Houthis attacked Saudi territory for the first time since 2022.
Since then, fighting has intensified with the Houthis launching a lightning offensive in which they seized control of coastal regions along the Bab al-Mandab strait.
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they → seek → strait
They have also struck multiple Saudi targets, including oil infrastructure and the capital Riyadh while also announcing a naval blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.
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They → strike → Sea
The renewed fighting has worsened the already appalling humanitarian conditions in Yemen, one of the world's poorest countries, with the World Food Programme warning on Friday that three-quarters of the population was unable to meet its basic food needs.
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quarters → renew → needs
Fighting in recent days has centred on Taiz, where dozens of combatants were reported killed on Friday by sources on both sides.
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dozens → centre → sides
The Houthis said 55 of their fighters had been killed while government sources reported 26 troops had died.
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troops → say → fighters
The battle for Taiz is taking place on several fronts, including highlands overlooking coastal areas recently seized by the Houthis.
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battle → take → Houthis
While the Houthis have conquered swathes of territory, they have yet to wrest control of Taiz city, which is Yemen's third-largest after Sanaa and Aden.
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which → conquer → Sanaa
On Friday, the Houthis said Saudi Arabia had launched 94 strikes against areas under their control in the past 24 hours.
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Arabia → say → hours
Saudi authorities meanwhile reported a Houthi projectile had damaged a school in the city of Najran near the Yemen border.
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projectile → report → border
Riyadh has reportedly requested help from the United States, a call so far rebuffed by US President Donald Trump.
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Riyadh → request → Trump
On Saturday US media outlet Axios reported that top cabinet members in the Trump administration met the day before to discuss Yemen as well as the Iran conflict, citing three US officials.
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members → report → officials
The meeting was not officially announced.
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meeting → announce → ?
The Aporia
