Yemen Targets Saudi Sites in Najran After Airspace Violation

By Al Mayadeen English

20 Aug 2026 20:14

Yemen’s Armed Forces say they struck a sensitive Saudi target at Najran Airport and Aramco in response to Saudi violations of Yemen’s airspace.

The Yemeni Armed Forces announced on Thursday that they carried out two military operations using unmanned aerial vehicles against Saudi targets in Najran, describing the strikes as a response to Saudi violations of Yemen’s airspace.

Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the operations targeted a sensitive Saudi site at Najran Airport and Aramco Najran. He said both operations successfully achieved their objectives.

Saree stressed that the Yemeni Armed Forces would continue to protect Yemen’s sovereignty against any violations and maintain the established equation of confronting Saudi escalation.

Yemeni Armed Forces strike Saudi targets

According to Saree, the two operations were conducted in response to the entry of Saudi drones into the airspace of Yemen’s Saada Governorate.

The announcement comes one day after the Yemeni Armed Forces declared three military equations in response to Saudi military escalation.

The first is “blockade for blockade,” the second is targeting Saudi military buildups wherever they are located, and the third is protecting Yemen’s sovereignty and confronting any violations.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have said the new equation is intended to establish a direct response to Saudi actions, linking any further escalation against Yemen to corresponding military retaliation.

The forces also said they had imposed what they described as a tight maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, asserting that Riyadh is no longer able to move a single vessel through the area.

Yemen declares response to Saudi escalation

The latest operations come amid heightened tensions between Yemen and Saudi Arabia following the collapse of the 2022 truce.

The Yemeni Armed Forces announced in July that the truce with Saudi Arabia had effectively collapsed following Saudi aggression against Sanaa Airport.

Yemen subsequently announced a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia under the equation of “blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation.”

The Yemeni Armed Forces said the measure followed broad popular authorization expressed through mass Friday demonstrations in Sana’a and several other Yemeni provinces.

The latest strikes therefore come as part of a broader military and political message from Sana’a: continued violations of Yemeni territory and airspace will be met with retaliatory operations against Saudi military and strategic targets.