An air raid alert sounded in the Saudi capital of Riyadh in the early hours of Sept. 19 and two explosions were reported. It was the first direct aerial threat warning for Riyadh since fighting in Yemen escalated again in July.
Residents received an emergency alert on mobile applications shortly before 3 a.m. local time stating that the area faced a hostile aerial threat. The warning was lifted after about 30 minutes. Reporters on the ground said they heard two explosions.
광고 문의 · 300×250The alert came hours after a Houthi spokesman said the group had thwarted what he called a criminal attempt in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, pointed to Saudi Arabia as responsible and promised a response. Saudi authorities did not specify damage or whether anything was intercepted.
The Houthis have recently extended their reach to the western Yemeni port of Mokha and to Perim Island at the mouth of the Red Sea near the Bab el-Mandeb strait. Attacks toward Saudi territory have continued, with alerts previously issued for Mecca and Jeddah before the range widened to the capital.
Riyadh is the kingdom's administrative and financial center and an international aviation hub. An alert in the capital feeds directly into aviation, logistics and insurance costs, raising the regional risk premium regardless of actual damage.
The matter is not remote for Korean and Taiwanese firms. Saudi Arabia is a major crude supplier to both and a market for construction and plant contracts, with sizable numbers of staff posted there. Higher risk on the Red Sea route shakes both freight rates and sailing schedules on Europe-bound lanes.
The question is escalation. Some warn that Saudi retaliation against targets inside Yemen could revive the attrition of the late 2010s. Others expect both sides to treat strikes on a capital as a mutual red line and to moderate their responses.
