Geneva – September 8, 2026: SAM for Rights and Liberties said it is following with grave concern the attacks that the Houthi group claimed to have carried out using ballistic missiles and drones against areas in southern Saudi Arabia. According to Saudi authorities, the attacks injured 73 civilians, including women and children, and caused damage to civilian and economic facilities in several areas.

According to information released by Saudi authorities, the attacks extended to Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran, affecting civilian and economic objects as well as a number of vital energy facilities and associated infrastructure in the southern region. Fires broke out at several locations, and some operations were temporarily suspended as a precautionary measure.

The Houthi group, for its part, claimed responsibility for the attacks. Its military spokesperson said the group had used dozens of ballistic missiles and drones to target Aramco facilities in Abha, Najran, Jazan, and the Economic City, as well as the Khamis Mushait Air Base, describing the attacks as a response to Saudi military operations inside Yemen.

SAM considers that these attacks cannot be viewed in isolation from a recurring pattern of cross-border Houthi operations that, over the course of the conflict, have affected airports, economic facilities, and populated areas, alongside repeated attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, endangering the lives of civilians and ship crews and threatening the security of maritime navigation.

Tawfiq Al-Humaidi, President of SAM for Rights and Liberties, said: “The expansion of military operations into cities and populated areas, and the use of ballistic missiles and drones in attacks that injure dozens of civilians and damage civilian facilities, represents an extremely dangerous escalation. Cities and facilities on which people depend in their daily lives must not be turned into arenas for exchanging military messages or acts of retaliation between parties to the conflict. The Houthi group must strictly comply with the rules of international humanitarian law protecting civilians and civilian objects.”

The organization stressed that describing an attack as a “response” or an act of “retaliation” provides no legal justification for targeting civilians or civilian objects. All parties remain bound, under all circumstances, by the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions, and an alleged violation by one party cannot justify the commission of another violation.

SAM called on the Houthi group to immediately cease attacks that target civilians or put them at risk and called for independent and transparent investigations into the recent attacks and accountability for those responsible for serious violations. It also stressed the need for independent investigations into all allegations of civilian casualties resulting from military operations inside Yemen, regardless of the party responsible.