Sana’a Says Alleged Saudi Casualties Were Caused by Its Own Defense Interceptions
Yemen’s foreign ministry in Sana’a accused Saudi Arabia of conducting interceptions over populated areas and reserved the right to respond to actions it described as threatening Yemen’s security and stability.
Yemen’s foreign ministry in Sana’a alleged that casualties attributed to Saudi Arabia resulted from Saudi defense-system interceptions over populated areas. It also defended Yemen’s military operations, accused Saudi Arabia of targeting civilians, called for international accountability and reserved the right to respond. The supplied report contains no Saudi response or independent verification.
Yemen’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sana’a has said that casualties Saudi Arabia attributes to attacks were caused by interceptions carried out by Saudi defense systems, according to a statement reported by Iran’s IRNA, citing the Yemeni news agency Saba.
The ministry, which operates under the Houthi-aligned “Change and Construction” government in Sana’a, alleged that Saudi Arabia deliberately conducts interception operations over densely populated areas in order to cause greater casualties. The statement did not provide independently verified casualty figures or technical details about the incidents it referenced.
According to the ministry, the alleged casualties were the result of Saudi Arabia’s own defensive interceptions. It also claimed that Yemen’s armed forces had, over a period of 12 years, demonstrated that they did not target civilians or residential neighborhoods, but instead targeted military bases and oil facilities that the ministry said finance what it called criminal military operations.
The statement further accused Saudi Arabia of targeting civilians “of all ages and backgrounds.” It described the Saudi government as a “criminal regime” and claimed that tens of thousands of people had been killed, adding that international organizations and institutions had acknowledged those actions. The statement did not identify the organizations or provide supporting documentation for that claim.
Sana’a’s foreign ministry said that the military operations conducted by Yemen’s armed forces were based on religious, ethical and humanitarian principles. It added that “reality” supported its position, without detailing the criteria or evidence on which that assessment was based.
The ministry issued a second statement on the same day, according to the report. In it, Saudi actions in Yemen were described as “criminal and extremist.” The ministry called on the international community to assume responsibility for those actions and said they recalled Saudi Arabia’s past conduct in several countries in the region, particularly Yemen, Iraq and Syria.
The second statement also said Yemen reserved what it called the legitimate right to respond to any Saudi activity that threatened the country’s security and stability. It added that the necessary measures would be taken, but did not specify what those measures might entail.
The statements represent the position of the Sana’a-based Yemeni authorities as reported by IRNA through Saba. The available report does not include a response from Saudi Arabia, independent confirmation of the alleged interceptions or casualties, or additional accounts from international organizations. As a result, the competing claims about the cause of the casualties and the conduct of the parties remain unverified in the supplied evidence.