Saudi-led coalition says power station attacked in Medina, blames Houthis 

The Saudi-led alliance fighting Yemen’s Houthis has accused the Iran-aligned group of attacking an electricity facility in the Muslim holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia this week, a claim the Houthis deny.

Meanwhile in Yemen on Thursday, Saudi-backed government forces said they were repelling a large-scale Houthi attack in the Taiz governorate and inflicting heavy losses on its fighters.

The Saudi-led coalition said that a power distribution station in Medina, which supplies electricity to the Masjid an-Nabawi (the Prophet’s Mosque), was attacked on Tuesday, putting one transformer out of service but without affecting ⁠the electricity network.

It said an investigation and examination of drone wreckage confirmed Houthi involvement in planning and carrying out the attack.

A Houthi military source, quoted by the Houthi-run Saba news agency, denied the accusation, calling it a “lie” and saying it was intended to cover up ‌what he described as Saudi Arabia’s failure to substantiate its earlier accusation that the Houthis targeted the Muslim holy city of Mecca.

The coalition claimed the Medina attack was part of what it described as repeated Houthi attempts to target the two holy mosques – the Masjid al-Haram (the Grand Mosque) in Mecca and Masjid an-Nabawi – and “provoke” ⁠Muslims worldwide. It said it would continue taking measures to protect the holy sites and pilgrims.

Deadly clashes in Yemen

The latest escalation in Saudi Arabia comes as the armed forces of Yemen’s internationally recognised government claimed that they killed dozens of Houthi fighters as intense clashes spread across several fronts in Taiz province in southwestern Yemen.

Yemen’s army said in a statement on X that the Houthis had opened heavy fire on Wednesday evening in Jabal Habashi and Maqbanah districts, west of Taiz, and on the al-Aqrud front in al-Masrakh district to the southeast.

Citing a military source, the Saudi-backed forces reported killing at least 30 Houthi fighters on the al-Aqrud front alone, in addition to wounding dozens.

Six air strikes also inflicted heavy losses southeast of Taiz, and on the Humayr front in the Maqbanah directorate to the west, the statement added.

As the number of people internally displaced in Yemen rises, the majority are being resettled in Taiz, according to government figures. The management unit for Yemen’s internally displaced people camps said 197,906 individuals had been officially registered as of Wednesday, comprising 29,519 families.

More than 97,000 people are being housed in Taiz province, followed by Lahij, with more than 50,000.

Nearly $60m in Saudi funding

Amid the intense fighting, Saudi Arabia on Thursday announced it approved 224 million Saudi riyals ($59.7m) in budget funding for Yemen’s internationally recognised government.

The funds will help “enhance the regularity of government financial flows, support the efficiency of fiscal policy, and contribute to strengthening the purchasing power of the Yemeni citizen”, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed al-Jabir, said on X.

Last month, Houthi fighters expanded control over the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait, one of the world’s most important trade routes, by seizing the Red Sea city of Mocha.

Known as the Gate of Tears, Bab al-Mandeb is a critical artery for crude oil and fuel travelling from the Gulf to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, as well as for Asian commodities and Russian oil.

Government forces then pledged not to let the Houthis advance further, with field commanders in Taiz and on the western coast saying they would attempt to retake Mocha.