Houthis and Saudis Show No Signs of Stopping the Fight

Fighting between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia is getting worse, with deadly attacks hitting the Saudi capital in recent days. On Saturday, a Houthi strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 13 people — the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than ten years. Both sides keep attacking each other, and there are no signs that either one plans to stop.

The Houthis are a rebel group from Yemen. They have been fighting Saudi Arabia since 2015, when Saudi Arabia joined a military alliance to fight them in Yemen's civil war. The Houthis are supported by Iran, and the fighting has grown even more intense after the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28.

On Tuesday, Houthi officials said Saudi Arabia had carried out overnight airstrikes on several areas inside Yemen. They said two strikes hit the Red Sea island of Kamaran, and a third struck Qanawis, a town north of Hodeida port. Rebels also reported strikes in an area called Jawf and said they shot down a Saudi drone over Saada, a stronghold they control.

Just hours before those strikes, loud explosions were heard in Riyadh and air-raid sirens went off. The Saudi capital has been under heavy attack for several days in a row. Egypt's foreign minister called for the attacks to stop immediately, telling Iran's top diplomat that there is 'no justification for these attacks and they cannot be accepted.'

The Houthi attacks are hurting Saudi Arabia's economy. Saudi Arabia is the world's top seller of oil, and the attacks have made it much harder for the country to ship that oil to buyers around the world. The International Monetary Fund, a global financial group known as the IMF, says Saudi Arabia's economy is expected to shrink by 3.3% this year because of the fighting.

Saudi Arabia tried to reroute its oil shipments away from the Strait of Hormuz by using land pipelines and the Red Sea. However, the Houthis have also been attacking ships and infrastructure in the Red Sea, making that route dangerous too. This leaves Saudi Arabia in a difficult position, with fewer safe ways to sell its oil.

Because of all these attacks, Saudi Arabia has asked the United States for help. U.S. President Donald Trump had ignored earlier requests, but on Saturday he suggested he might consider joining the fight against the Houthis. The Houthis quickly responded, warning that American interests in the region would be targeted if the U.S. got involved.

One of the strangest developments is that Saudi Arabia has quietly stopped sending air-raid alerts to warn citizens about incoming attacks. The government has not explained why, but observers think it may be trying to prevent public panic. However, experts warn that not issuing warnings could actually make people more frightened, since they won't know what is happening or when they might be in danger.

Before the policy change, Saudi officials said the alerts had been stopped because citizens were complaining about being woken up by them in the middle of the night. The government has also told residents they are not allowed to share photos or videos of Houthi attacks online, including images of missiles being intercepted or craters left behind. Former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney said the Saudi government was trying to keep the public calm, but in his opinion the decision to stop the warnings had actually made people feel less safe.