Diplomats stationed in the Saudi capital were sheltering in place and international schools took safety measures on Thursday, diplomats and residents said, after explosions echoed across the city.
Saudi Arabia’s civil defence agency said that a kindergarten and medical complex in Riyadh were damaged by shrapnel from an intercepted missile. “Missile fragments fell in Riyadh after a ballistic missile was intercepted, causing material damage to a kindergarten and a medical clinic complex,” a statement posted by the agency on X read, without specifying if there were any casualties.
The explosions heard in Riyadh came hours after Ansar Allah in Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia, claimed their latest attack on the kingdom, including the capital’s international airport. The fighters have launched a wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia since they began a major offensive in Yemen against the internationally-recognised, Saudi-backed government there.
Several residents said, meanwhile, that international schools were taking precautions, with at least one facility sending children into a basement for safety. “My daughter called me,” said one parent, who asked not to be named, adding she was “completely distraught”.
The measures came after repeated blasts were heard in the city, one of the loudest disturbances there since the start of the Middle East war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.
Numerous flights at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport were delayed or cancelled, according to information posted on signage at the facility. Two people working in Riyadh’s business hub, the King Abdullah Financial District, said that some companies were evacuating staff from the area.
200,000 DISPLACED
The Yemen war predates the Iran war, but it had come to a near-standstill until last month, when Ansar Allah launched a lightning offensive against government forces. They seized large swathes of territory, including the area around the Bab al-Mandab strait, a key waterway for global shipping and, crucially, Saudi oil exports. In Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries, it is ordinary civilians paying the price, with more than 200,000 people displaced since July, according to UN data.
After declaring a counter-offensive against Ansar Allah, Yemen’s government claimed to have pushed the fighters out of strategic areas on the Red Sea and the port city of Mocha. But Ansar Allah insists it is holding its territory, and military sources from both sides have not reported any major changes on the ground.
Claims by the warring parties have been impossible to independently verify, with the situation moving fast and access for journalists difficult.
In Saudi Arabia, the latest blasts came a day after Ansar Allah claimed attacks on two international airports, while repeating a warning to airlines to avoid Saudi airspace.
Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said the airports in Riyadh and Abha were “subjected to attacks” on Tuesday and Wednesday.
An Egyptian and an Algerian national were killed at Abha airport, while a Sudanese national was killed at Riyadh airport, the agency said. The attacks wounded 36 people, it added. — AFP
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