Military spokesman:

Yemeni forces hit Aramco oil facilities in western Saudi Arabia

Yemeni armed forces have pounded facilities belonging to the state-run oil giant Saudi Aramco as well as strategic targets inside the kingdom’s western province of Madinah, a high-ranking Yemeni military official says.

News ID: 449218

Date: 22 February 2020 - 10:35

RNA - The spokesman for Yemeni armed forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a press conference in the capital Sana’a that Yemeni missile operators together with air defense units launched an operation, dubbed 'The Third Balance of Deterrence Operation', on Friday and struck energy facilities in addition to sensitive sites in the Saudi port city of Yanbu, situated about 165 kilometers west of Medina.

Saree further noted that Yemeni forces used a squadron of 12 Sammad-3 (Invincible-3) combat drones as well as a volley of winged and long-range ballistic missiles to strike the important targets.

He went on to say that Yemeni armed forces reserve the right to respond to crimes being perpetrated by the Saudi-led military alliance against the Yemeni nation – the last of which took place on February 15 when more than 30 civilians were killed and many more sustained injuries in airstrikes on Yemen’s northern province of Jawf.

Saree also highlighted that the Saudi regime will suffer more painful strikes if it continues its onslaught against Yemen.

Back on September 18, 2019, the Yemeni spokesman lauded the highly disruptive drone attacks on Saudi Aramco petroleum and gas processing plants at Abqaiq and Khurais in Eastern Province as an outstanding example of the military prowess of Yemeni army troops and allied fighters from Popular Committees.

“Our forces have reached a high level of efficiency and ability. They can manufacture various types of unmanned aerial vehicles in record time. The Second Deterrent Balance Operation, which targeted Saudi oil installations, is a perfect example of the capabilities of our forces in terms of planning and implementation,” Saree said at the time.

“We assure the world that the free and steadfast Yemeni nation will not hesitate to respond to the (Saudi-led) coalition of aggression, and will use its legitimate right to target all targets deep inside the countries involved.”

“The destruction of the targeted facilities is far greater than what has been announced. Americans sought to publish fabricated pictures of the operation aftermath as part of attempts to downplay it. The blaze lasted for several hours and authorities in the state of aggression (Saudi Arabia) could not contain it.”

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing back to power the government of former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and crushing the Ansarullah movement.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past nearly five years.

According to Press TV, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have purchased billions of dollars' worth of weapons from the United States, France and the United Kingdom in the war on Yemen.

The Saudi-led coalition has been widely criticized for the high civilian death toll from its bombing campaign. The alliance has carried out nearly 20,500 air raids in Yemen, according to data collected by the Yemen Data Project.

The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.

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