By Tala Ramadan and Yomna Ehab
Oct 13 (Reuters) – A Saudi-led coalition urged civilians on Tuesday to evacuate the Yemen Oil Company’s Sabah central station in the capital Sanaa ahead of a planned military operation.
A statement from the coalition’s joint forces command identified the site on a map and said civilians should leave the area for their own safety.
A military spokesperson for Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, Yahya Saree, warned that any strikes on Sanaa would be met with a “harsh and painful” response in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
The Houthis also warned employees and civilians near Saudi Aramco oil facilities to evacuate and stay away, saying the facilities were legitimate targets for their forces.
Fighting has escalated between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis, who have been attacking Saudi airports and oil facilities since last week in a spillover from the wider regional conflagration between the US and Iran.
Saudi Arabia has in recent weeks launched strikes against the Houthis and is backing a Yemeni government counteroffensive after the group seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month.
The conflict has disrupted air travel in Saudi Arabia, with Riyadh airport remaining closed after a deadly missile strike on Saturday claimed by the Houthis.
(Reporting by Tala Ramadan and Yomna Ehab; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Andrwe Cawthorne)
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