Houthi missile shot down near Makkah: Coalition

riyadh — A ballistic missile fired by Yemeni rebels was shot down late on Thursday close to the holy city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia, a month before the annual Haj pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest site, the Arab military coalition fighting in Yemen said.

The missile was intercepted 69km south of the city in western Saudi Arabia, the coalition said in a statement, calling it “a desperate attempt by Shia Houthi rebels to disrupt Haj”, which begins at the end of August.

Occasional ballistic missile attacks, as well as more frequent short-range rocket fire over the southern border, have in the past been conducted after coalition air strikes against the rebels in Yemen and is not the first time rebels have fired in the direction of Makkah.

In October they launched one of

the new missile strike is proof of continued arms trafficking (for the benefit of the rebels) at the port of Hodeida. the missiles continue to be smuggled in due to a lack of controls at the port of Hodeida Arab Coalition statement

their longest-range strikes against Saudi Arabia, firing a ballistic missile that was brought down near the holy city, an attack condemned by Riyadh’s Gulf allies.

But the new attack is thought to pose a threat ahead of Haj, when some two million faithful from across the world will visit the site.

The Houthi rebels and their allies, former members of Yemen’s security forces linked to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, began retaliatory attacks against the kingdom two years ago.

The Arab coalition said the new missile strike was proof of “continued arms trafficking (for the benefit of the rebels) at the port of Hodeida” on the Red sea.

“The missiles continue to be smuggled in due to a lack of controls at the port of Hodeida,” it said in the statement.

It said permits given by the Arab coalition for the delivery of humanitarian aid and commercial cargo were being abused at the port.

The Arab coalition has consistently accused the Houthi rebels of trafficking weapons, a claim they deny. — AFP