YEMENI armed forces launched retaliatory strikes against an oil facility and other targets in Saudi Arabia yesterday after Riyadh pummelled civilian areas in the impoverished nation overnight.

A water installation in al-Shaqeeq was hit in a drone strike, the Saudi Press Agency said, while an attack on the Aramco Liquefied Natural Gas facility in Yanbu was foiled as missiles were intercepted.

A power station in al-Janub and a gas facility in Khamis Mushait were also targeted, with no loss of life reported.

Yemen’s armed forces spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, told a press conference that his troops had launched an assault on an Aramco facility in Riyadh as part of Operation Breaking the Siege II.

According to the military leader, sensitive targets deep inside Saudi Arabia had been struck with domestically developed ballistic and cruise missiles as well as combat drones.

“God willing, Yemeni armed forces will carry on special military operations to break the brutal siege. The strikes will be against critical and sensitive targets, which the enemy would never imagine,” he said.

“The Yemeni army warns the criminal enemy of the consequences of its oppressive siege on the country’s economic facilities and projects. 

“Yemeni armed forces have always declared they will hit the strategic and sensitive facilities of the Saudi-led coalition’s member states as long as the siege persists,” he added.

The Yemeni reprisals came after the latest round of Saudi airstrikes across the war-stricken country. Fighter jets pounded civilian areas in the central Marib province on Saturday night.

Two civilians were killed as artillery fire struck residential areas in the north-western Yemeni province of Saada while missiles struck Hajjah province causing material damage but no casualties.

Saudi-led forces and mercenaries were reported to have broken a fragile truce around the strategic port of Hudaydah 132 times in just 24 hours.

Yemen’s Liaison and Coordination Officers Operations room claimed that it had observed reconnaissance flights over various districts, 31 counts of artillery shelling and 92 shooting incidents.

Mass demonstrations took place last weekend after Friday prayers over the continued blockade of Hudaydah, seen as a lifeline for millions of Yemeni people.

Protesters said the continued seizure of oil ships by the United States and Saudi Arabia was a deliberate attempt to make the Yemeni people suffer, condemning the UN for its continued silence.