Iranian proxy in Yemen says its fighters killed several of the kingdom’s soldiers during weekend incursion
Shi’ite Houthi rebels in Yemen announced they had carried out a ground incursion into Saudi Arabia for the first time since a Riyadh-led coalition of Sunni nations intervened in the country’s civil war in 2015.
The intervention came after Iranian-backed Houthi fighters captured Yemen’s capital Sanaa and overthrew the internationally recognized government.
On Sunday, the Houthis stated on their official website, Al-Masirah, that a number of Saudi soldiers were killed and others wounded during an “offensive operation” east of Jafan Mountain within the kingdom’s territory.
In response, the Sunni coalition carried out airstrikes targeting rallies and facilities of the Houthi forces in the Yemeni provinces of Dali’a and Saada, killing a number of rebel fighters.
Sulaiman al-Oquili, a Saudi analyst and writer, told The Media Line that the Houthis had been issuing claims of occupying Saudi areas since 2015. “It’s pure lies coming from the Iranian school,” Oquili said, adding that the rebels were trying to raise their members’ morale and performance by spreading “fake news.”
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Meanwhile, Amad Eleiba, a senior analyst at the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies, explained to The Media Line that there was an important new development in the Yemeni arena. “Saudi Arabia has moved from an offensive position to a defensive position,” he said.
Eleiba emphasized that the Houthis now had military capabilities constituting a threat to the broader region. But “the issue of invading Saudi lands has a symbolic significance more than anything else,” he elaborated. “The Houthis are sending a message to the Saudi kingdom that they are not only capable of threatening it, but can violate its borders.”
Moreover, Eleiba stated that the Shi’ite group had Iranian and Hizbullah military advisers, which strengthened the group’s ability to conduct war, as did “the weapons they captured following battles.”
Eleiba stressed that the situation was unlikely to remain stable, as the United States and other international players were “re-positioning their forces in the Gulf area.” He concluded that Saudi Arabia was trying to deal with the Houthis through the use of force, even though a partial UAE military withdrawal from Yemen (in June, the UAE began pulling tanks, attack helicopters and hundreds of troops out of the country) “comes from [Abu Dhabi’s] understanding that continuing the campaign there won’t work.”
Last month, US President Donald Trump invoked his emergency authority to approve 22 arms sales totaling $8.1 billion to Arab states, despite bipartisan opposition from lawmakers.
According to The New York Times, one of the contracts is for Paveway laser-guided bombs produced by the American defense firm Raytheon. The White House justified waiving Congressional review based on “increasing tensions with Iran.”
Ahmad Obaid Syaf, a UAE analyst and writer, told The Media Line that the Houthis have talked the talked but failed to implement any of their threats. “The claimed ground invasion doesn’t mean that they can take Saudi territory, as they are not ready or equipped to face the Saudi army,” he said.
Regarding the UAE withdrawal from Yemen, Syaf contended that the reports had been misinterpreted. “The UAE had a definite goal in entering Yemen, which was the restoration of the legitimate Yemeni government and the clearance of the land seized by the Houthis. The UAE,” he continued, “managed to achieve its goal of clearing the rebels from about 80 percent of Yemen.”
Elias Farhat, a security expert and a former general in the Lebanese army, told The Media Line that the Houthis managed to enter Saudi Arabia because of the mountainous nature of the border area. “The Houthis know how to fight and move in such an area, which allows them to attack Saudi facilities there,” he said.
Farhat likewise believes that the rebels are incapable of holding Saudi territory, while at the same time Riyadh could not occupy the Yemen. “The war is likely to continue for years as neither side can resolve it militarily,” he said.
According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, more than 91,000 people have been killed in the fighting in Yemen since 2015. The organization found 4,500 instances in which civilians were directly targeted, resulting in about 11,700 deaths, with some 8,000 of those attributed to coalition activities such as airstrikes.