🔻 Alarm sirens sounded in Riyadh for the first time after fighting intensified with the Houthis Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense announced that an early warning alert and danger sirens were activated in Riyadh. This is the first warning for the Saudi capital since fighting between this country and Yemen’s Houthis intensified.

The alert was issued a few hours after a Houthi military spokesman said that they had “foiled criminal actions” in Sana’a; he also blamed Saudi Arabia and promised to respond to these actions.

Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense later declared the situation normal in the early hours of Saturday.

The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous areas and a large part of the north of the country, have launched attacks against Saudi Arabia since Riyadh announced a naval blockade in July, targeting Saudi ships in the Red Sea.

Over the past week, the Houthis say they have taken control of the entire coastal strip of Yemen in the Red Sea following rapid advances. They claim that in recent days Saudi Arabia’s air force carried out hundreds of airstrikes against areas under their control.