Najran: In Najran, the thump of artillery reverberates all day across a valley ringed by desert mountains along Saudi Arabia’s southern frontier with Yemen.
Security guards at an archaeological site outside the city barely register the blasts as Saudi land forces fire shells across the border. Like many in Najran, they’ve gotten used to the daily reality of a war that most Saudis only see on their TV screens, if at all.
For most of the nine-month conflict, the frontlines have been far south of the kingdom’s borders, around cities like Taiz and Aden, where the Saudis and their coalition partners pushed out Al Houthi rebels seen as allies of Iran. On the Saudi side, it’s only in Najran - even if on a far smaller scale - that war is having a direct impact.
The city’s airport is closed, forcing residents to travel almost 300 kilometres to the nearest alternative. Schools open then shut again, depending on the fighting. Once-busy markets are empty.
“None of the people in Najran like this,” said Hassan Al Wadee, a 57-year-old man, whose shop sells the curved Yemeni daggers knowns as jambiyas. “We want this war to end.”
Efforts to halt the fighting have made little progress. UN-brokered peace talks resumed this month but a cease-fire quickly broke down, like earlier attempts, with each side accusing the other of breaching it. Another round of talks is due to start on January 14 in Ethiopia.
On the highway between Najran and Abha, to the northwest, the war is evident. Information Ministry employees point to dozens of new army encampments, built to stop the Houthis from attacking border posts. Trucks pulling military vehicles crawl up the steep passes, as forces rotate along the frontier area.
Across the border in Yemen, local resident Mohammad Esmail says the Saudis are respoding to Al Houthi dtrikes by shelling almost every hour.
“The Houthis are responding with mortars,” he said by phone. “They sometimes carry out attacks inside Saudi territory, but withdraw under heavy shelling and airstrikes.”
Najran is only a few kilometers from the border, and the other side is held by Al Houthi rebels and tribes loyal to them. Skirmishes have occurred since the war began in March and are now routine.
Rockets fired by the rebels regularly land in Najran’s centre.
A shopkeeper said sales are down. For his 18-year-old son Misfer, being out of school is a disruption that his father uses to teach him his trade. “One week I’m at school, the next I’m at the shop,” he said, resigned to his changed routine.
The shopkeeper said he hopes the Saudis win the war, defeating what he says is Iranian aggression across the border. “I am asking God to help the Al Sauds,” he said.