The Saudi military launched missile and artillery attacks on border areas in Yemen’s Saada governorate on 16 April, according to a report by Al-Masirah TV.

No civilian casualties were reported following the Saudi attack on the historic Ansarullah stronghold. The attack came a few hours after U.S. warplanes launched multiple airstrikes on Saada’s Majz district and the Mefaa Anas district in Dhamar governorate.

On Tuesday, U.S. warplanes launched over 25 airstrikes on the governorates of Al-Bayda, Hodeidah, Amran, and Saada.

Washington expanded its illegal war against Yemen on 16 March in an attempt to stop the Yemeni Armed Forces' (YAF) operations against the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, killing dozens of civilians across the country and destroying vital civilian infrastructure.

On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that UAE proxy militias in Yemen are planning a ground offensive to take the port city of Hodeidah from the YAF with the support of Washington.

“Private American security contractors provided advice to the Yemeni factions on a potential ground operation, people involved in the planning said. The United Arab Emirates, which supports these factions, raised the plan with American officials in recent weeks,” the report says.

U.S. officials speaking with the newspaper said Washington has launched more than 350 strikes during its current campaign against Yemen. Nevertheless, the intense war has not managed to deter Sanaa's pro-Palestine operations.

Officials from Saudi Arabia have privately said they will not join or help a ground offensive in Yemen.

In 2018, the Saudi kingdom launched three operations against Ansarullah in an attempt to capture Hodeidah, yet failed. 

Ansarullah forces retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drone attacks on Saudi cities, including striking a Saudi Aramco oil storage facility in Jeddah, which threatened to devastate the kingdom’s oil production and exports.

(Source: The Cradle)