Saudi says Yemen rebel ballistic missile shot down

Monitoring Desk

RIYADH: The official spokesman of forces of Coalition for Supporting the legitimacy in Yemen Colonel Turki Al-Maliki stated that at 7:23 a.m. (seven and twenty-three minutes on Monday morning, Saudi Royal Air Defense Forces intercepted a ballistic missile launched by Houthi militias of Iran from Yemeni territories (Sa’adah Governorate) toward the Kingdom.

Colonel Al-Maliki said that the missile was heading towards the city of Khamis Mushait and was deliberately launched to target civilian and populated areas.

He said that this hostile action by the Houthi group supported by Iran proves the continuing involvement of the Iranian regime in supporting Houthi armed group with qualitative capabilities in a clear and explicit defiance to violate United Nations resolutions 2216 and 2231 in order to threaten the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the regional and international security, and that launching ballistic missiles toward densely populated cities and villages is contrary to the international humanitarian law.

Colonel Al-Maliki renewed his call for the international community to take more serious and effective steps to stop Iran’s blatant violations of continuing smuggling and transferring ballistic missiles and weapons to terrorist groups and outlaws, holding it accountable for its support and blatant defiance of international norms and values and threatening the regional and international security.

The United States, which backs the Saudi campaign against the Houthis, has also accused Iran of being at the origin of the ballistic missiles, a charge denied by Tehran.

Russia said last week that evidence presented by the US was inconclusive, signalling it would oppose a bid to slap UN sanctions on Tehran.

More than 9,200 people have been killed since the Saudi-led alliance joined the Yemen war in March 2015, according to the World Health Organisation, triggering what the United Nations has called the world´s worst humanitarian disaster.