Istanbul / Anadolu

The Yemeni Houthi group announced on Monday a "maritime navigation ban" on Saudi Arabia, in response to what it says is a blockade imposed by Riyadh.

The group's military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video statement: "The Yemeni armed forces," referring to the group's forces, "announce a maritime navigation ban on Saudi Arabia based on the equation of blockade for blockade."

He added that the ban "will enter into effect from the moment of this statement," according to the group's Al-Masirah TV channel.

He spoke about what he called "the right of our great people to face blockade with blockade, comprehensive escalation with comprehensive escalation, and to establish this equation."

Saree stated that the group's forces "affirm their full readiness for all options."

He stressed that any comprehensive Saudi escalation "will be met with comprehensive and harsh escalation."

He called for "continuing general mobilization and public rallying, and full readiness for all scenarios and developments, and supporting the fronts with fighters."

As of 13:30 GMT, the Saudi authorities had not commented on the Houthi group's statement.

Despite intermittent clashes, Yemen has witnessed since April 2022 a lull in a war that began more than 11 years ago between government forces backed by a coalition led by neighboring Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi group, which has controlled provinces and cities including Sanaa since September 21, 2014.

On July 13, the Yemeni Defense Ministry announced that its forces targeted the runway of Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing, while the Houthi group accused Saudi Arabia of launching the attack, considering it meant the end of de-escalation.

In recent days, clashes have renewed between government forces and the Houthis in several provinces, including Al-Jawf, Al-Dhale, and Taiz, amid mutual threats between the two sides, in a country facing one of the worst humanitarian and economic crises in the world.