JEDDAH: Saudi forces destroyed explosives-laden boats and launched air strikes in Yemen on Saturday after Houthi rebel drones and missiles hit targets around the country, setting off an inferno at an oil plant within sight of Jeddah’s Formula One race.

Three people were killed in the operation against the booby-trapped boats, according to the Saudi-led coalition, which also carried out air raids on the Yemeni cities of Sanaa and Hodeida overnight.

It marked a violent seventh anniversary of the coalition’s military intervention in Saudi Arabia’s impoverished neighbour Yemen, after the Iran-backed Houthis had seized the capital Sanaa in 2014.

Thousands of people marched in Sanaa on Saturday to denounce a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands directly or indirectly, according to the UN, and left millions on the brink of famine.

Overnight coalition air strikes on Sanaa and Hodeida leave eight people dead

However, there were signs of diplomacy as a senior Saudi official said the rebels had offered a ceasefire and peace talks in exchange for opening up Sanaa’s airport and the lifeline port of Hodeida.

“The Houthis put forward an initiative through mediators that includes a truce, opening the airport (Sanaa) and the port (Hodeida) and Yemeni-Yemeni discussions,” said the official.

“We are waiting for it to be officially announced because they (Houthis) are constantly changing their words,” he added. No immediate comment was available from the rebels.

Four boats laden with explosives were destroyed at Salif, a Red Sea port north of Jeddah, a day after the Yemeni attacks on a televised F1 practice day spooked drivers and threw the race into doubt.

“We targeted four booby-trapped boats in Salif port, which is under preparation, and thwarted an imminent attack on oil tankers,” the coalition said, according to state television.

Formula One is one of a number of high-profile events brought to Saudi Arabia in recent years, drawing accusations of ‘sportswashing’ — using sports events to distract from criticism of the country’s human rights record.

It is not the first to witness violence. A French driver was seriously injured in a blast at the Dakar Rally hosted by Saudi Arabia in December. French investigators blamed an explosive device planted on his car.

The Iran-backed rebels last week rejected an offer of talks in Riyadh — capital of Saudi Arabia, which leads the pro-government military coalition.

A Riyadh-based diplomat said that Hans Grundberg, the UN’s special envoy to Yemen, had led recent efforts to reach a truce during Ramazan, which begins in early April.

Last week, the Saudi-headquartered, six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council invited the rebels to talks in Riyadh later this month.

But the Houthis refused to hold talks with the government in “enemy countries”.

A Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen unleashed a barrage of airstrikes on the capital and a strategic Red Sea city, officials said Saturday. At least eight people were killed.

The overnight airstrikes on Sanaa and Hodeida both held by the Houthis came a day after the rebels attacked an oil depot in the Saudi city of Jeddah, their highest-profile assault yet on the kingdom.

Gen Turki al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said the strikes targeted sources of threat to Saudi Arabia, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency or SPA.

He said the coalition intercepted and destroyed two explosives-laden drones early Saturday.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2022