Yemeni forces target Houthis as US rules out direct role

Saudi Arabia requests missile defence support from allies as the US sees its own stock of interceptors dwindle.

US may be 'forced to intervene' in the Red Sea

The United States reiterated its support for Yemen’s internationally recognised government on Wednesday as fighting intensified between the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi forces. US officials also held direct talks with Houthi representatives in Oman last weekend, according to sources cited by Reuters.

Yemeni government forces said that the coalition had struck Houthi positions around Mocha and that government forces had launched drone attacks in Marib. The Houthis claimed to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Marib.

list 1 of 3 Saudi-led coalition intercepts Houthi drone headed for Mecca

list 2 of 3 Taiz camps overflow with Yemenis fleeing fighting after Houthi offensive

list 3 of 3 Djibouti calls for assistance as thousands of Yemenis flee to country

US offers diplomatic support

Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has asked regional and Western allies for help, according to two officials who spoke to The Associated Press news agency. The Saudis asked France, Pakistan, Egypt and the United Kingdom to deploy air-defence support to help defend against attacks by the Houthis. One official said Saudi Arabia’s main ally and arms supplier, the US, has seen its own stock of interceptors dwindle over the course of the war with Iran.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Tim Hawkins told Al Jazeera that the US is “closely monitoring” the situation between Houthis and the Saudi-backed government in Yemen, adding that the US military has a longstanding “military relationship with our Saudi partners, and you see that manifesting today”.

Even as Washington assists the Saudi campaign, American officials held direct talks with Houthi representatives in Oman last weekend, according to three sources who spoke to the Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity. The meeting took place at the US embassy in Muscat with the assistance of the Omani government, two of the sources said.

At the Muscat meeting, the Houthis told US officials they had no intention of attacking US vessels and were committed to the 2025 ceasefire with the US, according to the sources cited by Reuters.

Meanwhile, the top US diplomat for Yemen, Neil Hop, told Yemen’s Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba that the US maintained its “strong support” for Yemen’s internationally recognised government, according to the US embassy in Yemen.

“The United States of America stands in solidarity with the Yemen government and its people against Iran-backed Houthi aggression,” the embassy said, citing Hop in a post on X.

The Yemeni government’s army said the Saudi-led coalition targeted Houthi outposts and equipment around the southwestern port city of Mocha. In a separate social media post, the government’s army also said they conducted drone attacks on Houthi forces in northern Marib governorate .

Houthi fighters stand in front of what they say is a downed Saudi jet in this screengrab from a handout video released by the group on September 16 [Reuters]

On Wednesday evening, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said that “Saudi warplanes launched 40 air strikes targeting the provinces of Taiz, Marib and Hodeidah over the past 24 hours”. In response, the Houthis targeted the Khamis Mushait airbase and an oil facility in the Saudi Red Sea port city of Yanbu, the group said in a statement.

The Houthis also claimed to have shot down a Saudi fighter jet using a “locally made surface-to-air missile” over the central province of Marib. Al Jazeera’s Yemen correspondent Yousef Mawry said the downing of Saudi fighter jets “could very well mean a change in the balance of power” as “Saudi Arabia depends heavily on its ability to carry out air strikes against Houthi positions in various provinces”.

由于美国的拦截导弹数量不断减少，沙特阿拉伯向盟友请求导弹防御支持。

美国可能“被迫干预”红海事务

周三，随着沙特领导的联军与胡塞武装之间的战斗愈演愈烈，美国重申了对也门国际公认政府的支持。据路透社援引消息人士的话报道，美国官员上周末还在阿曼与胡塞武装代表举行了直接会谈。

也门政府军称，联军袭击了摩卡附近的胡塞武装阵地，政府军还在马里卜发动了无人机袭击。胡塞武装则声称在马里卜上空击落了一架沙特阿拉伯的F-15战斗机。

列表 1/3：沙特领导的联军拦截胡塞武装飞往麦加的无人机

塔伊兹难民营人满为患，挤满了在胡塞武装进攻后逃离战火的也门难民。（列表2/3）

吉布提呼吁援助，数千名也门人逃往该国（列表 3/3）

美国提供外交支持

据美联社援引两位官员的话报道，沙特阿拉伯的导弹拦截器库存告急，已向地区和西方盟友寻求援助。沙特方面请求法国、巴基斯坦、埃及和英国部署防空力量，以抵御胡塞武装的袭击。其中一位官员表示，沙特阿拉伯的主要盟友和武器供应国美国，其自身的拦截器库存也在与伊朗的战争中不断减少。

美国中央司令部（CENTCOM）发言人蒂姆·霍金斯告诉半岛电视台，美国正在“密切关注”也门胡塞武装与沙特支持的政府之间的局势，并补充说，美国军方与沙特伙伴有着长期的“军事关系，而今天你们也看到了这一点”。

据三位不愿透露姓名的消息人士向路透社透露，尽管华盛顿方面支持沙特的军事行动，但美国官员上周末在阿曼与胡塞武装代表举行了直接会谈。其中两位消息人士称，会谈在阿曼政府的协助下，于美国驻马斯喀特大使馆举行。

据路透社援引消息人士的话报道，在马斯喀特会议上，胡塞武装告诉美国官员，他们无意攻击美国船只，并承诺遵守与美国于2025年达成的停火协议。

与此同时，据美国驻也门大使馆消息，美国负责也门事务的最高外交官尼尔·霍普告诉也门外交部长阿夫拉赫·祖巴，美国将继续“坚定支持”也门国际公认的政府。

“美利坚合众国与也门政府及其人民团结一致，反对伊朗支持的胡塞武装的侵略，”美国大使馆在 X 网站上发表的帖子中援引 Hop 的话说。

也门政府军称，沙特领导的联军袭击了西南部港口城市摩卡附近的胡塞武装据点和装备。政府军还在另一条社交媒体帖子中表示，他们对北部马里卜省的胡塞武装发动了无人机袭击。

这张截图来自胡塞武装9月16日发布的一段视频，视频中胡塞武装人员站在他们所说的被击落的沙特战机前。[路透社]

周三晚间，胡塞武装发言人叶海亚·萨里表示，“过去24小时内，沙特战机对塔​​伊兹省、马里卜省和荷台达省发动了40次空袭”。胡塞武装在一份声明中称，作为回应，他们袭击了位于沙特红海港口城市延布的哈米斯穆沙伊特空军基地和一处石油设施。

胡塞武装还声称，他们在也门中部马里卜省上空使用“国产地对空导弹”击落了一架沙特战斗机。半岛电视台也门记者优素福·马乌里表示，沙特战斗机被击落“很可能意味着力量平衡的改变”，因为“沙特阿拉伯严重依赖其对胡塞武装在各省的阵地进行空袭的能力”。