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Houthi-Saudi conflict
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Towering flames and thick black smoke rise beside storage tanks at Saudi Aramco's Riyadh refinery as firefighters spray water on the blaze. Map of Yemen showing international boundaries, major cities including Sanaa, Aden, and Al-Mukalla, and neighboring countries Saudi Arabia and Oman. The map also includes parts of the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and nearby countries Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, with a locator inset highlighting Yemen's position in the Middle East. Yemeni men search through rubble and debris of destroyed buildings and vehicles in Sanaa after airstrikes, with damaged structures and a crowd visible in the background. Houthi fighters in Sanaa World map comparing two shipping routes from Dalian, China, to Rotterdam, Netherlands: the Suez Canal route, shown in blue, passing through the Strait of Malacca, Red Sea, and Mediterranean Sea, covering about 11,000 nautical miles and taking 48 days; and the alternate route, shown in red, traveling around the Cape of Good Hope at Africa's southern tip, covering about 14,500 nautical miles and taking 57 days. Map showing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, with surrounding countries Yemen to the northeast, Djibouti to the south, and Eritrea to the northwest. The map labels key locations including Mokha, Dhubab, Ta'izz, and Aden in Yemen; Djibouti city in Djibouti; Assab in Eritrea; and features islands such as Perim (Mayun), Greater Hanish, Lesser Hanish, and Jabal Zuqar. A small inset globe shows the strait's location at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stand holding documents after signing the Mecca Pact in a formal room with gold curtains. Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi Ali Abdullah Saleh, president of Yemen, wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and red patterned tie, poses and smiles slightly in a formal setting.
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Towering flames and thick black smoke rise beside storage tanks at Saudi Aramco's Riyadh refinery as firefighters spray water on the blaze.
Houthi attack on Saudi Aramco, October 3, 2026 An oil facility in Saudi Arabia belonging to Saudi Aramco was attacked by Houthi fighters in Yemen amid escalating conflict on October 3, 2026.

Houthi-Saudi conflict

Middle Eastern history
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

Houthi-Saudi conflict, conflict between the Houthi movement in Yemen and the armed forces of Saudi Arabia that began with the Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni Civil War (2014– ) in 2015. The intervention was intended to be swift and decisive, but the Houthi rebels managed to gain the upper hand, not least because of their early hold on Sanaa and the port of Hodeidah. In 2022 the fighting came to a halt as Saudi Arabia...

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