On Friday evening, August 23, 2024, the Yemeni army announced the thwarting of an attack by the Houthi group, internationally designated as a terrorist organization, on the Safer oil facility in Marib Governorate (northeastern Yemen).

In a statement published on the official website of the Ministry of Defense "September Net," the Yemeni army stated that the Houthis targeted the Safer oil facility early Friday morning with three suicide drones carrying high explosives. The army labeled the attack a "cowardly terrorist attempt to destroy this vital civilian facility."

This attack, coinciding with intense international, regional, and UN efforts to end the war in Yemen, sparked widespread public condemnation from politicians, writers, journalists, and activists on various social media platforms.

A Terrorist Act and a Savage Enemy

Yemeni Minister of Local Administration and former head of the Supreme Relief Committee, Abdulraqeeb Fath, stated on his X account, as monitored by Barran Press, that "the Safer facility in Marib is an economic facility whose products and resources belong to all Yemenis."

He considered the "attempt to destroy it by the Houthi group a terrorist act, confirming the savagery of the enemy facing all Yemenis and the nature of the conflict with them." He added, "With this attempt, the Houthi militias confirm their rejection of all forms of peace and their hostility towards Yemen, all of Yemen!"

Political and human rights activist Abdulkarim Omaran, in a tweet on his X account, stated, "If the national army's air defenses in Marib hadn't shot them down, they would have caused tremendous damage to the largest oil facility in Yemen."

He added, "These criminals are not satisfied with depriving the people of their rights, salaries, and oil revenues by preventing exports, but they are seeking to destroy their resources!"

Lost Their Way?

Ibrahim Jalal, a researcher at the Middle East Institute's Arabian Peninsula Program, stated in a post on his X account, as monitored by Barran Press, "After threatening to retaliate against Israel, the Houthis targeted the Safer facility in Marib."

He questioned, "I wonder, does the path to Palestine pass through Marib? Does the group diversify its methods of destroying Yemeni resources and increasing the cost of living, sometimes through bringing in Israel and sometimes through its own approach? Has peace lost its controls and objective frameworks to become chaos with no clear horizon?"

Politician Abdulkarim Omaran expressed his surprise at the attack in his post, stating, "While everyone is waiting for the Houthi militia's response to those who called on them to destroy fuel tanks in Hodeidah, they send three suicide drones towards the Safer oil facility today."

Yemen's Primary Enemy

Journalist Adnan al-Jabrani stated that the Houthis "cowered from retaliating against Israel after its bombing of Hodeidah's tanks and adhered to Iranian instructions... but today they went to launch an attack with three drones on the national Safer company in Marib!!."

He added in a post on his X account, as monitored by Barran Press, "This is the Houthi! The primary enemy of Yemen and the most serious threat to the lives and interests of Yemenis, no matter how much they claim to be linked to noble causes."

Saleh al-Baidhani, media advisor at the Yemeni embassy in Riyadh, commented on the attack, stating, "We were waiting for the Houthi response to Tel Aviv, but they went towards Marib to destroy what remains of the Yemeni people's resources, as is the custom of these terrorist militias."

Houthi Hypocrisy Exposed

Journalist Ahmed al-Sabbahi wrote on X, "Israel bombed the port of Hodeidah, and since then, the Houthis have been threatening retaliation. Today, the retaliation came, but it was against the Safer oil facility in Marib Governorate."

He added, "The Houthis are exposing themselves and revealing their true plans."

A Call for Rational Thinking

Journalist "Marib al-Ward" stated, "While the tongues of the Houthis' local opponents are filled with talk about the truce as if it were a precious treasure to be preserved, Iran's agents use it to achieve their political goals and disregard this tedious talk."

Al-Ward, in posts on his X account, as monitored by Barran Press, considered the Houthis' targeting of the Safer facility as "a message of political pressure in a military style to intimidate the roadmap that serves only them."

He stated that this "is a dangerous development, but it is not strange for the Houthis, who destroy the interests of the people and care only about their own interests."

Journalist al-Ward emphasized the need for this incident, and those that preceded it and may follow it anywhere, to remind all parties that thinking with a "each one for themselves" mentality is not a solution. He added that unless they are truly united, not just in words, they will all lose.

A Dangerous Development That Must Be Stopped

Journalist Essam Balgheeth, released from the prisons of the Houthi group designated as a terrorist organization, stated, "The Houthi response to the Zionist entity was to target Yemeni oil facilities in Marib, which have been suffering from a standstill for years."

He added, in a post on his X account, as monitored by Barran Press, "The Houthis are not content with disabling oil facilities and preventing Yemenis from benefiting from their resources, but they are seeking to destroy them so that they will not be operational for decades."

Journalist Balgheeth asserted that the Houthis' targeting of the Safer oil facilities "is a crime and a dangerous development that must be stopped," according to him.

The Yemeni army, in its statement, confirmed the downing of the drones that targeted the Safer facility before they achieved their "criminal" objectives.

The army explained that information indicates that these "hostile" drones were launched from a point located between the areas of (Dhuhaida and Qarn al-Sai'ri) east of the city of Hazm, the capital of Jawf Governorate, which is under the control of the group.

The Yemeni forces confirmed their readiness to respond to such actions, which they said "target the interests of the Yemeni people and their sovereign economic facilities."

In May 2024, a Houthi leader, designated as a terrorist by the international community, threatened to target oil facilities in Marib Governorate (northeastern Yemen) and stop oil extraction from the Safer fields, similar to what happened in Shabwa and Hadramaut Governorates (east), a day after the group announced what it called the "fourth phase" of escalation against Israeli ships.