The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group has notably launched a new set of attacks against Saudi Arabia from Yemen in recent weeks, mainly by civilian drones and ballistic missiles, causing damage to a number of facilities and injuring several Saudis in Khamis Mushait.
We should send them all back, we don’t need traitors on our soil!! End of talk !
— Voice of Saudi 🇸🇦 (@Voice_of_Saudi) March 8, 2021
#ترحيل_اليمنيين_مطلب_وطني pic.twitter.com/TDEgpAn5Du
Almost six years after the Saudi-Emirati coalition has started its military intervention in Yemen in 2015, the Houthis' attacks are taking a new approach with the intensive drone and missile attacks against Saudi's southern cities, including Najran, Jazan, and Khamis Mushait.
Meanwhile, the Saudi army is responding with heavy airstrikes on cities controlled by the Houthis, including the capital city Sana'a.
This new military escalation has angered many Saudis who have taken to social media to attack the Yemeni residents of Saudi Arabia, arguing that many of them live in the country while they support the Iran-backed Houthi group.
#SaudiArabia's Energy Ministry confirms that a drone hit a petroleum tank farm at Ras Tanura port, one of the world's largest oil shipping ports, and shrapnel from a ballistic missile fell near #SaudiAramco's residential area in Dhahran.https://t.co/6vh0xaPNH5
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) March 8, 2021
كم واحد غيرهم يعشون في السعوديه ويحملون هذا الحقد فالحوثيين يعيشون بينا يجمعون الاموال ويرسلونها ويحربونا ب اموالنا #ترحيل_اليمنيين_مطلب_وطني pic.twitter.com/OREYSFsRrg
— م (@fczn6jOpkU1n8lq) March 7, 2021
Translation: "How many more live in Saudi and have such great hatred against us? Houthis live amongst us, collect money and send it home so they fight us with our own money!"
Tweeting on the trending hashtag #ترحيل_اليمنيين_مطلب_وطني (Deporting Yemenis is a national demand), many Saudis posted screenshots of online comments made by Yemenis whose profiles say they live in Saudi Arabia, showing their support for the attacks against Saudi.
No to stupid racism .. Our army defeated them and this is enough🇸🇦 .. Leave the people alone .. Our problem is with Al-Houthi only!#ترحيل_اليمنيين_مطلب_وطني
— نوف الدوسري 🇸🇦 (@noufdosri1998) March 8, 2021
However, many Saudis took a different stance, demanding that their fellow citizens stop posting what they described as "racist remarks," saying that having a few Saudi-based Yemeni voices with the Houthis does not reflect the stance of nearly 2 million Yemenis living in Saudi Arabia.