Saudi Arabia strongly condemned on Monday the terrorist Houthi militia’s continued targeting of civilians and civilian and economic facilities in the Kingdom. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement said Saudi Arabia also condemned “the Houthis’ blatant and repeated attacks against the holiest sites on earth - Makkah and Madinah - the capital Riyadh, and the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, Najran, Taif, and Yanbu, as well as its targeting of Saudi vessels in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.” The Kingdom stressed that, since the terrorist Houthi militia’s coup against Yemen’s legitimate government in 2014, Saudi Arabia “has made sustained and tireless efforts to support a comprehensive and lasting political solution in Yemen.” “However, consistent with its rejection of peace, the terrorist Houthi militia has instead chosen continued military escalation, dragging Yemen and the brotherly Yemeni people into further humanitarian and economic suffering that serves - and is in pursuit of - external agendas,” it added. “The Kingdom reaffirms its inherent right to defend its territory, resources, sovereignty, and the safety of its citizens and residents, and to take all necessary measures to protect its security in accordance with international law,” it continued. “It also renews its full political and military support for the Presidential Leadership Council, the Yemeni government, and the brotherly Yemeni people to end the coup and restore the state and its institutions from the control of the terrorist Houthi militia,” it went on to say. “The Kingdom reiterates its call on the international community, particularly the permanent members of the UN Security Council, to fulfill its responsibilities, implement the relevant Security Council resolutions, and provide full support to Yemen’s legitimate government in confronting the terrorist Houthi militia and ending the threat it poses to Yemen, the region, and the world,” it urged.
