Gulf bloc condemns Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia, more than 200,000 people displaced in fierce fighting in Yemen
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has condemned the repeated attacks in Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi fighters. The organisation has reiterated its support for Saudi Arabia. At the same time, fighting has taken an intense form across Yemen and it has been learned that more than 233,000 people have been newly displaced.
This political and economic bloc, comprising Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, issued a statement on Sunday. The statement was released immediately after a meeting of foreign ministers in Manama, Bahrain. It said an attack on any one member country means an attack on all six countries — citing the joint defence treaty, support was expressed for Saudi Arabia's right of self-defence.
On the very day of this condemnation, the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis said two drones were shot down near Riyadh and in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province early on Sunday. The coalition claimed another drone had been intercepted near the capital a few hours before that, although who sent it could not be identified.
The Gulf ministers levelled allegations against the Houthis of deadly attacks on civilian airports and important installations. They pressed for stricter enforcement of the UN arms embargo and called on various countries to formally declare the Houthis a 'terrorist organisation'.
The ministers welcomed the statement issued by the UN Security Council on 15 October. That body, responsible for maintaining international peace, had condemned the Houthis' attacks in Saudi Arabia and the threat to shipping in the Red Sea.
Yemen's internationally recognised government separately appealed to the Security Council to take action against Houthi attacks on homes and state installations. In a letter sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and to Aglaiya Balta, the Security Council's president for the month of October, the government mentioned the attack on the presidential palace in Aden, the government's temporary base.
On Sunday itself, UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed regional security in Abu Dhabi with Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud, the country's state news agency WAM reported.
Tension has also risen in the fighting on the ground. Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have intensified operations on several fronts. The Yemeni military claimed the Houthis fired missiles towards the central city of Marib on Sunday, while further south in Taiz government soldiers reported advances.
According to government-backed commanders, eight soldiers were killed in fighting in Lahij province on Saturday. Government forces have also claimed to have killed 12 Houthi fighters in southern Taiz, although these numbers could not be independently verified.
This latest phase of fighting began after the Houthis advanced on Yemen's Red Sea coast last month. The Houthis captured the capital Sanaa in 2014; government forces have launched a counteroffensive to retake territory from them.
According to the UN's migration agency, the International Organization for Migration, more than 233,000 people have left their homes in the ongoing fighting. Of these, about 121,000 people are in Taiz province, where supply routes have been disrupted due to the fighting.
Reports from Taiz say cooking gas is unavailable and food stocks are running out as Houthi forces have blocked supplies through the city's western entrance. According to a local office monitoring the blockade, food prices have increased fivefold.
The World Health Organization has warned that 12 hospitals in Taiz have only four more days of fuel and have run out of surgical equipment. Oxygen and medicines are also in severe shortage in the city, which is battling a cholera outbreak. As a result, pressure is growing further to stop the fighting and deliver humanitarian supplies.
