Saudi defence downs ballistic missile fired at Khamis Mushait

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The coalition forces supporting the legitimacy in Yemen yesterday said the Saudi defences downed a ballistic missile fired towards Khamis Mushait from Saada airport.

Coalition spokesman Brigadier-General Turki al-Malki said the Houthis aimed the ballistic missile at a commercial centre in Khamis Mushait.

“The Houthi escalation by targeting civilian infrastructure necessitates an immediate response to protect civilians,” he said, adding that the coalition will continue to target Houthi camps and warehouses.

The Saudi-led alliance on Thursday reported operations against “Houthi military capabilities” in Hodeidah, ballistic missile launch platforms in Bayda province in central Yemen and military targets in Yemen’s Houthi-held capital Sanaa.

On Thursday, the coalition also published pictures of the bombing of Houthi militia camps and warehouses in Sanaa. The coalition had announced at dawn on Thursday that it had started a large-scale military operation to paralyze the capabilities of the Houthi militia.

“Legal and moral right”

Separately, Dr Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, yesterday said the UAE has a “legal and moral right” to defend itself against terrorist acts by Yemen’s Iran[1]backed Houthi militia.

“The UAE has a legal and moral right to defend its lands, population and sovereignty, and will exercise this right to defend itself and prevent terrorist acts pursued by the Houthi group,” he was quoted as saying.

He said this during a call with Hans Grundberg, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Yemen. The UAE official also highlighted the lack of engagement of Houthis in a “political solution to the crisis,” adding that the piracy of the UAE-flagged ‘Rwabee’ ship adds another dimension to the issue.

Gargash also called for a “strong and firm position” against the “terrorist acts by the Houthi militia” from the international community.

Airstrike on prison?

Meanwhile, a Save the Children report said three children and more than 60 adults were killed in airstrikes in Yemen yesterday.

Responding, coalition spokesman Brigadier-General Turki al-Malki said, “We take this report very seriously and it will be fully investigated as all reports of this nature are, using an internationally approved, independent process.

Whilst this is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

UN condemns attack on UAE

The UN Security Council condemned the Houthi attack on the UAE and other sites in Saudi Arabia in a statement on Friday and “underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.”

The statement came after the council met behind closed doors to discuss the Houthi attack on the UAE, which requested the discussion. The UAE joined the 15-member council this month for a two-year term.

When asked about the airstrikes on Yemen on Friday, UAE UN Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh told reporters: “The coalition undertake to abide by international law and proportionate response in all its military operations.”