Saudi-led Coalition says Iran, Hezbollah aid Houthi militias in Yemen

The Saudi-led coalition on Sunday presented proofs of Lebanese Hezbollah militias’ support to Yemen’s Houthi militants to launch missiles and drones at the kingdom, where two people were killed.

Coalition spokesman Turki Al Malki told a news conference that the Houthis were “militarising” Sanaa airport and using it as a “main centre for launching ballistic missiles and drones” towards the kingdom.

Malki showed reporters a video clip which depicted “the headquarters of Iranian and Hezbollah experts at the airport” where, he alleged “Hezbollah is training the Houthis to booby-trap and use drones”.

Malki showed other clips which showed a Hezbollah member placing explosives in a drone, and a man he identified as a Hezbollah official telling Houthi militants “we must strengthen our ranks”.

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The Arab Coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen in 2015 to back the internationally recognised government.

Saudi Arabia has regularly accused Iran of supplying the Houthis with sophisticated weapons and Hezbollah of training the insurgents.

On Sunday, Malki said the international community must “stop hostile acts by this terrorist organisation,” a reference to Hezbollah.

Since January 2018, he said, the Houthis have launched 430 ballistic missiles and 850 drones towards Saudi Arabia.

Earlier on Sunday the coalition said it had struck a Houthi rebel camp in Sanaa, destroying weapons warehouses.

Malki also accused Iran’s ambassador to Sanaa, who died of Covid-19 last week after his evacuation from Yemen, of “leading the planning of military operations in Marib” — the Yemeni government’s last stronghold in the north.

“Houthi attacks are perpetuating the conflict, prolonging the suffering of the Yemeni people, and endangering the Saudi people alongside more than 70,000 US citizens residing in Saudi Arabia,” Washington’s embassy to Riyadh said in a statement.

Ludovic Pouille, the French ambassador to Riyadh, on Twitter offered condolences to families of the victims of the “barbaric Houthi attack”.

The insurgents often launch missiles and drones into Saudi Arabia aimed at its airports and oil infrastructure.

AFP

• Saudi Arabia
• MENA