The 2019 Afif attack occurred in May of that year and was an attempt by the
Houthi military power to harm
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
's economic interests, specifically the
East–West Crude Oil Pipeline
The East-West Pipeline, also known as the ''Petroline,'' is a -long pipeline that runs from the Abqaiq oil field in the Eastern Province (near Bahrain and Qatar on the Persian Gulf coast) across the width of the Arabian Peninsula to the Red ...
. The Houthis flew seven
drones in the attack on a pumping station at Afif, which is located in the greater region of
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
, 250 miles away from the capital. The targets are 800 kilometers north of the Saudi border with
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
.
The attack was noted in a report issued by
UN Secretary-General António Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Socia ...
on 9 June 2020 as part of his Iran arms embargo duties to the UNSC.
References
2019 in international relations
2019 in Saudi Arabia
Drone strikes
Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
Military operations involving Saudi Arabia
Saudi Aramco
May 2019 events in Saudi Arabia
Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
Houthi insurgency in Yemen
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