Arab News | Arab League, UN condemn Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

LONDON: The Arab League’s secretary-general, Nabil Fahmy, on Thursday condemned the continuing Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said.

During a telephone call with the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Fahmy said the security of the Kingdom was integral to the security of the wider Arab world.

They also discussed the latest regional developments and ways in which the league might strengthen its response to challenges across the region.

Their talks took place shortly after Saudi Civil Defense said falling debris from an intercepted Houthi ballistic missile damaged a kindergarten and a medical complex in Riyadh on Thursday. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Earlier in the day, the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen said it intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles targeting Riyadh and a third aimed at Khamis Mushayt.

Attacks by the Iran-backed Yemeni group targeting the Kingdom have escalated in recent weeks. The incidents on Thursday came a day after strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Abha International Airport in which three people were killed and 36 injured, according to figures from Saudi civil aviation authorities.

The United Nations also condemned the cross-border attacks, with spokesman Stephane Dujarric citing the strikes on both airports and warning of a broader military escalation in and around Yemen.

“Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law,” Dujarric said. He urged all parties to uphold their obligations and take precautions to protect civilians and the infrastructure they rely on.

“We remain deeply concerned about the ongoing military escalation in and around Yemen, with intense fighting across multiple frontlines, including around Taiz,” he said. “We underscore that attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law.”

Meanwhile, fighting between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces has intensified along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast recently, including areas close to the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, a key route for international shipping.