The Houthis have been accused of launching a drone towards Mecca, Islam’s holy city, sparking outrage across the Muslim world and worsening the conflict that is rocking the region.
The Houthis promptly rejected the accusation spread by Riyadh as a “lie”. “The claims that we targeted Mecca are an out-of-date lie, already used in the past and which no longer deceives anyone,” Hazem al-Assad, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, wrote in X.
The Saudi coalition has promised retaliation, warning that the security of the holy sites represents a “red line”. «The security of the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims is a red line; the Coalition Joint Forces Command will not hesitate to adopt the necessary and deterrent measures against the Houthi terrorist militia”, declared the coalition in a statement released on X by spokesperson Turki al-Maliki. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation – a bloc of 57 Muslim countries – condemned the attack, calling it “heinous”.
After a lightning offensive last week allowed the group to take control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Saudi Arabia asked regional allies and the United States for help.
Saudi Arabia had issued brief warnings of possible attacks in Mecca and in large areas of the southern Kingdom on the border with Yemen in the aftermath of a wave of attacks with ballistic missiles and drones launched from Yemen, which injured 13 people in the southern Kingdom.
Yemen’s permanent representative to the UN, Abdullah al-Saadi, said Yemenis were fighting to restore “national institutions in every inch of their territory” and urged the international community to take action against the Houthis.
The appeal came as Saudi Arabia and Egypt called for freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for “guaranteeing the freedom and safety of maritime navigation” through the Straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.
Qatar has warned of the serious consequences of a possible closure of Bab el-Mandeb, calling it “catastrophic for the entire world”. The Houthis have also targeted Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Riyadh had launched 52 airstrikes against Yemen in the past 24 hours, including on civilian targets such as schools and bridges. However, Riyadh’s raids failed to reverse the group’s gains. A U.S. military task force is working to enhance intelligence sharing and planning assistance for Saudi forces as they battle the attacks.