Explosions reported after Sanaa oil site evacuation warning

The Saudi-led coalition ordered civilians to evacuate a Yemen Petroleum Company facility in Sanaa on Tuesday ahead of a planned military operation. Explosions were reported in the area soon afterward, and Houthi-linked media said the site had been struck, but the specific facilities hit and any damage were not established. The evacuation order covered the company’s Al-Sabaha Central Station in western Sanaa and nearby storage areas. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki urged civilians to leave for their safety and released a map identifying the site. An AFP correspondent and Al Jazeera’s team in Sanaa reported hearing explosions after the warning. Those reports confirmed blasts in the area but did not establish what was hit. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree warned that Saudi sites could be targeted in retaliation. He named Saudi Aramco facilities and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, and urged people near the sites to evacuate. The warnings followed the coalition’s announcement of its planned operation; the supplied accounts did not establish that the Houthis subsequently carried out an attack on those sites.