RIYADH — The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen confirmed on Thursday that they have begun a military operation against Houthi militias in Yemen. In a clear warning to Houthis, Coalition spokesman Col. Turki Al-Maliki told a press conference in Riyadh that "targeting civilian facilities is a red line. We won’t allow this to happen.” The Coalition defenses have been able to intercept drones and missiles fired by the terrorist militias, he said. The Coalition has destroyed 118 ballistic missiles intercepted by Saudi defenses, he added. According to Maliki, there have been 4,276 Houthi violations in the past 45 days, during which the Coalition had abided by the ceasefire. The spokesman also accused Iran of using an organized crime network to smuggle 16 shipments of arms to the insurgents. The operation that started Wednesday aims to neutralize the Houthis" military capabilities after they stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks.