Sanaa blasts deepen Yemen conflict as oil sites and Red Sea shipping face threats

Explosions shook Yemen’s capital on Saturday as a conflict already reaching Saudi oil infrastructure and Red Sea shipping brought fresh reports of airstrikes. According to Africanews, the Houthis blamed Saudi forces for the blasts in Sanaa. Separately, reports described smoke and fires near an oil facility in Riyadh, although the account did not establish what caused them.

Al-Masirah, a television channel affiliated with the Houthis, reported attacks on Sanaa but gave no details about targets or casualties. It had earlier reported missile attacks on telecommunications infrastructure in Saada, a northwestern governorate and Houthi stronghold. Those accounts leave the scale of the latest damage unclear. The Houthis also said Saudi Arabia had bombed Sanaa on Thursday night, describing that attack as the first on the capital since fighting resumed in July.

Oil and shipping enter the conflict

The business stakes extend beyond Yemen’s cities. Africanews reported that the Houthis have attacked several Saudi targets, including oil infrastructure and Riyadh, while announcing a naval blockade against Saudi ships in the Red Sea. The source provided no figures for oil production losses, shipping delays or changes in commodity prices. The announced blockade should therefore not be read as evidence of a measured disruption to trade.

The Houthis have also captured coastal areas along the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait during a rapid offensive, according to the report. That places control of the coast alongside attacks on infrastructure at the centre of the conflict. The internationally recognised government says its attacks are directed at Houthi positions across Yemen. The reported operations span the capital, the northwest and fronts near recently captured coastal territory.

A broken truce and a battle for Taiz

Africanews traces the renewed war to July, after four years of a fragile truce. It says Iran sent an aircraft carrying a Houthi delegation to Sanaa without seeking Saudi authorisation, breaking a practice followed for a decade. Riyadh then struck Sanaa airport. The Houthis responded by attacking Saudi territory for the first time since 2022, and the fighting subsequently intensified.

The opposing sides hold different parts of Yemen. The Iran-backed Houthis control most of the northwest. The internationally recognised government, supported by neighbouring Saudi Arabia and based in Aden, holds much of the south and east. Its territory is larger but less densely populated. That split provides the backdrop to a conflict now being fought across several fronts rather than around the capital alone.

Recent combat has focused on Taiz. Sources from both sides reported on Friday that 80 combatants had died there, according to Africanews. Fighting includes high ground overlooking coastal areas recently taken by the Houthis. The report also says Saudi Arabia has sought US help and that President Donald Trump has so far declined. The next developments to watch are the battle around Taiz, further accounts of damage to oil and telecommunications sites, and whether the announced shipping blockade translates into reported disruption.