The Saudi-Houthi conflict has opened up another front in the ongoing Middle East war (AFP Photo)
The Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen’s Houthis accused them on Sept. 16 of targeting Islam’s holy city Mecca, sparking outrage across the Muslim world.
The Houthis swiftly rejected as a “lie” Riyadh’s statement that it had shot down a drone heading towards Mecca, which attracts millions of pilgrims each year.
Fresh fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed internationally recognized government has dragged in the kingdom, with the Houthis declaring a maritime blockade on its ships in the Red Sea.
Last week, the Houthis seized control of the entirety of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the narrow Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital artery for Saudi oil exports as the wider Middle East war chokes off the Strait of Hormuz shipping route.
“The claims about targeting Mecca are a worn-out lie that has been used before and no longer fools anyone,” Hazem al-Assad from the Houthi politburo wrote on X.
Saudi Arabia has previously accused the Houthis of launching attacks towards Mecca in an earlier conflict.
The Saudi coalition vowed retaliation, warning that the security of holy sites was a “red line”.
“The security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims is a red line, and the Joint Forces Command of the coalition will not hesitate to take the necessary and deterrent measures against the Terrorist Houthi Militia,” it said in a statement.
Mecca has long been home to a large number of security forces, responsible for crowd control and securing the holy sites, particularly during the annual hajj gathering.
During this year’s pilgrimage, the Saudi Defense Ministry released a video showing advanced air defense batteries positioned on the outskirts of Mecca.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a bloc of 57 Muslim countries, condemned the “heinous attacks... against the city of Mecca and the Madinah region.”
Saudi Arabia had issued brief alerts on Sept. 15 over possible attacks in Mecca and across parts of the south.
Fighting flared in July when the Houthis, who have for years controlled swathes of northern Yemen, launched a large-scale offensive against government forces.
The conflict in the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country has forced 82,000 people to flee their homes since the start of September, according to the United Nations.
