Riyadh on alert: Black smoke and flames seen near airport amid rising Yemen tensions

Black smoke and flames rose near Riyadhs international airport on Saturday as a flight tracking website reported cancellations and delays at the hub hours after Saudi authorities issued an air raid alertFirefighters could be seen trying to extinguish the flames of a burnt out fuel tank emblazoned with the logo of the Saudi oil giant Aramco near the airport according to an AFP journalist at the sceneTracking website FlightRadar24 reported major problems at the Saudi capitals Riyadh King Khalid International Airport listing it under its maximum disruption indexThe disruption follows an overnight air raid alert issued by Saudi authorities the first since fighting in neighbouring Yemen intensified this monthHours after the early morning alert residents told AFP on condition of anonymity that they heard what sounded like another round of explosions echoing through parts of the Saudi capitalIn the direction of the airport we saw black smoke and fire one resident told AFP speaking on condition of anonymityLightning offensiveYemens Houthis have staged a lightning offensive this month seizing swathes of territory in one of the worlds poorest countries leaving the internationally recognised government which is backed by Saudi Arabia scrambling to respondSaudi Arabia itself one of the regions powerhouses has conducted scores of airstrikes on Houthiheld areas but failed to stop the advance It has also sought help from its ally the United States that has not materialisedThis is the first time since Yemens longstanding civil war resumed that it has threatened the Saudi capital further shaking a global economy already under pressure by nearly seven months of war between the US and IranThe area is under a hostile aerial threat according to a message received just before 300 am by Riyadh residents urging them to stay indoorsAFP journalists then heard two explosions before the Saudi civil defence agency lifted the alert half an hour laterI heard the alarm then my windows shook a Riyadh resident 27 living in the citys north told AFPIt was definitely scary I was not expecting thisTerrifyingAnother resident described the attack as terrifyingI was extremely anxious especially because unlike previous times the allclear signal didnt come right away the central Riyadh resident saidSaudi Arabia has not commented on the threat mentioned in the warnings sent overnight to residents of several regions and has not identified where it originated fromThe incident comes days after Riyadh accused the Houthis of targeting Mecca on Wednesday denouncing it as a cowardly terrorist attack on Islams holy city which welcomes millions of pilgrims each year both Sunnis and ShiasThe Iranbacked Houthis strongly denied the accusation calling it a wornout lieThe group has reported scores of retaliatory strikes carried out daily by Riyadh since their offensive this month to take over the countrys entire Red Sea coast giving them control over the vital Bab alMandab straitRiyadh was targeted with waves of attacks during an earlier period of the war including a drone strike on the US embassy in the capitals diplomatic quarter in MarchThe United States according to US news platform Axios last week refused a Saudi request to strike the HouthisOn Thursday Washington approved a 243 billion sale of 48 F35 fighter jets to the kingdom to help Riyadh deter current and future threats the US State Department saidReduced Saudi exportsThe United Nations said on Friday that the renewed fighting had displaced more than 112000 people while nearly 3000 others had fled across the sea to DjiboutiWar in Yemen broke out in 2014 when the Houthis seized control of the capital Sanaa and other regions triggering a military intervention led by Saudi Arabia in March 2015The fragile truce reached in 2022 between the warring parties collapsed in July when the Houthis defied Riyadhs control of Yemeni airspace by allowing an Iranian aircraft to land in YemenTheir recent takeover of the coastline has sparked global concern with international maritime trade already impacted by Irans imposition of a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz since the Middle East war erupted in late FebruaryThe Houthis insist there is no threat to shipping in the sea lane except for ships from Saudi Arabia the worlds leading crude exporterThe attack targeting Riyadh came as the Houthis improve their defences in newly conquered territory along Yemens Red Sea coastline with members of the group telling AFP they have been installing radar and digging tunnelsTwo separate Houthi sources told AFP that Iranian Revolutionary Guards had visited the area in recent daysFigures from maritime tracking firm Kpler showed that Saudi exports via the Bab alMandab strait had dropped since July although five loaded ships had passed through in the last weekThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness 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