In Saudi Arabia, a series of attacks by Houthis causes a major fire

Published on: 03/25/2022 – 20:02 A series of attacks in Saudi Arabia, in particular on an oil installation in the city of Jeddah, claimed by Yemeni Houthi rebels, caused a major fire on Friday and delayed free practice of the Saudi Arabian Formula 1 Grand Prix in Jeddah. Yemeni Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Saudi Arabia on Friday March 25, one of which caused a huge fire at an oil facility owned by oil giant Aramco in Jeddah. Saudi Formula 1 in Jeddah have been delayed. The session began at 8:15 p.m. local time (6:15 p.m. French time) instead of 8 p.m. (6 p.m. French time). These attacks come on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the intervention of a military coalition led by Riyadh in Yemen to The Saudi kingdom, the world’s largest crude exporter, warned on Monday of the risk of a drop in its oil production in the aftermath of several drone and missile attacks claimed by the Houthis. .One of them had targeted an Aramco refinery in the industrial city of Yanbu on the Red Sea, about 100 kilometers north of Jeddah.According to an AFP journalist, a huge plume of black smoke was released Friday afternoon from the Jeddah site. The fire “has been brought under control and caused no casualties”, the coalition said in a statement at the start of the evening, specifying that it would have “no impact on activities in the city of Jeddah”, with reference to our ment from the nearby Formula 1 circuit. The attack targeted “tanks of petroleum products” from Aramco, according to the same source. Sixteen attacks in total In their press release, the Houthis said they carried out a total of sixteen attacks. increased since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and global supplies have been disrupted as Russia is hit by Western sanctions.”Saudi Arabia will not take responsibility for any supply shortages oil on world markets in light of attacks on its oil facilities,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said on Monday. The attacks by Houthis, Yemeni insurgents backed by Iran, “affect the kingdom’s production and its ability to fulfill its commitments, clearly threatening the security and stability of supplies on world markets,” he insisted. One of the rebel attacks on Sunday forced Aramco to “temporarily” cut production and dip into inventory to compensate. The Foreign Ministry again accused Iran of “continuing to supply drones and missiles ” to the Houthis, calling on the international community to “take its responsibilities”. Western countries have been pressing since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, to increase its production .But the Gulf monarchy has remained deaf to these calls, faithful to its commitments to the OPEC + alliance, which includes Russia, the second largest exporter of crude oil in the world.With AFP