EU strongly condemns Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

By Ali Murat Alhas

ISTANBUL (AA) - The European Union’s Arabic spokesperson for the Middle East and North Africa said Monday that the bloc strongly condemns recent strikes on Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Luis Miguel Bueno said on Twitter that the EU denounces the missile and drone attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure by the Ansar Allah movement, referring to the Houthis, adding these attacks have to come to an end.

He called on the relevant parties to engage constructively with the UN envoy to reach a comprehensive political deal to end the war in Yemen, which has been dragging on for years.

Early on Sunday, the Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses had intercepted a ballistic missile and nine drones fired by Houthi rebels towards Saudi Arabia.

Houthi rebel spokesman General Yahya Sarea said the attacks targeted oil company Aramco’s facilities in the capital Riyadh and a number of Saudi regions.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthis captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The conflict has created one of the world's worst man-made humanitarian crises, with nearly 80% of the country, or about 30 million people, in need of humanitarian assistance and protection and more than 13 million in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates.