YEMEN'S Houthi group said on Monday that it was prepared to further escalate the fighting if Saudi Arabia doesn't agree to end the war and lift its blockade on Houthi-held areas.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Political Bureau of Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, talked about the goal of their attacks on vital infrastructure in Saudi Arabia in a recent interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN).
"The aim of our military operations targeting vital Saudi facilities is to send a message to [Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister] Mohammed bin Salman that he cannot continue the war on Yemen from a position of safety, and that the cost of the war is now higher for Saudi Arabia than for Yemen. But if he does not accept peace and agree to Yemen's demands, which include ending the war and lifting the blockade by both sides, then the war will have become a domestic problem for Saudi Arabia," al-Bukhaiti said.
The Houthi official warned possible further escalation of the conflict, saying that they will target ports and more facilities in the kingdom.
"We act wisely, even in our military operations. That is why everyone can see that our military operations begin with warnings, followed by gradual and escalating military steps, in the hope that the Saudi leadership will reconsider its position. At first, everyone questioned Yemen’s ability to impose an air blockade on Saudi Arabia. But today, Yemen is achieving that goal. Therefore, if we fail to achieve our objective of ending the war and the blockade, our military operations will expand. They will target Saudi ports and more facilities, including power generation facilities and others," al-Bukhaiti said.
Fighting between the Houthi group and the Saudi-led coalition has showed no sign of easing recently particularly after Houthi attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday, which killed 12 people and injured 309 others.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthi group seized the capital Sanaa and much of the country's north. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, now based in the southern port city of Aden.
The renewed fighting marked a major escalation after a UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted major hostilities.
