• Houthis say Saudi aircraft carried out 26 strikes on Yemen capital, claim attack on Aramco facility in south of Riyadh
uncertain
aircraft → say → Riyadh
• Trump’s top national security aides meet secretly on Yemen, Iran
SANAA:
asserted
aides → meet → Yemen
Fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis showed no signs of abating on Saturday, with the Houthis saying the kingdom had launched dozens of strikes on capital Sanaa, while flames and smoke were seen rising from a facility belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco, south of Riyadh.
asserted
flames → show → Riyadh
While Houthis later said they attacked an Aramco facility with ballistic missiles and drones, there was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia.
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they → say → Arabia
The foes have traded strikes 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
US media outlet Axios reported earlier on Friday that US President Donald Trump’s top cabinet members “met secretly at the presidential retreat at Camp David to discuss the Saudi-Houthi conflict in Yemen and next steps in the Iran war”.
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members → report → war
Vice President Vance chaired the meeting, the news outlet reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
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outlet → chair → matter
Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV reported that Saudi 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
Two AFP correspondents in Sanaa reported hearing loud explosions and seeing warplanes firing missiles on the city.
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warplanes → report → city
In neighbouring Saudi Arabia, flames and smoke were seen rising on Saturday afternoon from a facility belonging to state-owned oil giant Aramco south of Riyadh, an AFP journalist said, although both the Houthis and Saudi authorities had yet to comment.
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Houthis → neighbour → Riyadh
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
The journalist reported seeing firefighters attempting to extinguish a blaze at the energy giant’s Riyadh refinery, located south of the capital, while ambulances and police vehicles were stationed near the facility.
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ambulances → report → facility
Al-Masirah TV earlier on Saturday 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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TV → report → strongholds
It comes after the Houthis said that 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
The health ministry in Sanaa claims 72 people have been killed and 125 wounded in Saudi attacks on Yemen since the escalation began, Al Jazeera reports citing the Al Masirah news outlet.
uncertain
Jazeera → claim → outlet
Hunger warning
After several years of calm, Yemen was plunged back into civil war that month, pitting the 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.
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Houthis → seek → 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 → intensify → 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 reported 55 of their fighters had been killed while government sources told AFP that 26 troops had died.
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troops → report → AFP
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
The Houthis also on Friday 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
The Aporia
