Yemen: Houthis Warn They Could Target Riyadh and Abu Dhabi

Yemen’s Houthi forces warned Saturday they could launch attacks against the capitals of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who are leading a military coalition against them.

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“We have aerial photographs and coordinates of dozens of headquarters, facilities and military bases of the enemy,” Houthi militia spokesman Yahya Saree said in comments carried by the militia’s Al-Masirah channel.

"We have manufactured advanced generations of attack aircraft, and new systems will soon be functional," he added.

The Houthi forces have targeted Saudi border towns and Riyadh with ballistic missiles and also claimed drone attacks on the airports of Abu Dhabi and Dubai during the course of the conflict.

Saudi Arabia has said the missiles were all intercepted by its air force, with one civilian reported killed by falling shrapnel, while the UAE has denied the that the alleged drone attacks took place, reported the news agency France24. 

On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council met to discuss the stalled truce agreed to in Sweden in December between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the Houthis.

The deal — which called for a ceasefire, rebel pullback and mutual redeployment from Hodeida, Yemen's key port city controlled by the Huthis —offered the best hope in years of moving toward an end to the conflict.

While the fighting in Hodeida has eased, redeployment efforts have stalled in recent weeks.

U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths told the Security Council Wednesday he was still working to make the redeployment a "reality".

According to the U.N., more than 20 million people across the country are experiencing food insecurity and half of them are suffering extreme levels of hunger. Almost 80% of the population need assistance and protection. 

The Republican-led U.S. Senate Wednesday passed a resolution to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. 

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, who co-sponsored the text, wrote on his Twitter that the war in Yemen was both "a humanitarian and strategic disaster."