Yemeni official calls Saudi strike on Sanaa oil company a war crime

Yemeni government spokesman Omar al-Bukhaiti described a Saudi airstrike on the Yemeni Oil Company in the Al-Sabah area of Sanaa as a blatant war crime, according to a report by Lebanese outlet Al-Mayadeen. Al-Bukhaiti said the facilities targeted in Sanaa were empty at the time of the attack. He also stated that the supply of oil products in the country remains stable and will cover citizens' needs for a long time.

The strike hit the headquarters of the Yemeni Oil Company in Al-Sabah, located in the Bani Matar district, west of Sanaa, on Tuesday evening. There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities on the attack or on the Yemeni official's characterization of it.

In response to the strike, Yemen's armed forces issued an evacuation warning for several sites in Saudi Arabia. The warning covered King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the Aramco refinery in Riyadh, and the company's oil facilities in Dhahran. The advisory did not specify a timeframe for the evacuations or detail what actions might follow.

The exchange marks a further escalation in the ongoing conflict between Saudi-led forces and Yemen's Houthi movement, which controls Sanaa and large parts of northern Yemen. Saudi Arabia has conducted airstrikes against targets in Yemen for years as part of a military campaign that began in 2015. Yemen's armed forces, aligned with the Houthis, have periodically launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi territory, including oil infrastructure and airports.

Oil facilities have repeatedly been focal points in the conflict, given their importance to both Yemen's domestic supply and Saudi Arabia's export economy. The targeting of the Yemeni Oil Company in Sanaa follows previous strikes on similar infrastructure. Al-Bukhaiti's remarks sought to reassure Yemeni citizens that fuel supplies would not be disrupted despite the attack.

The evacuation warning for sites in Riyadh and Dhahran signals that Yemen's armed forces may be preparing retaliatory action. Such warnings have preceded previous attacks on Saudi oil and aviation targets. The situation remains tense, with no indication of de-escalation from either side.

According to Mehr News, which cited Al-Mayadeen, the Yemeni official's statement and the evacuation warning underscore the continuing volatility of the conflict and the risk of further strikes on civilian and economic infrastructure.