Qatar condemns Houthi missile attack targeting Makkah (Mekka)

[DaNGeROuS KiLLeR]

 

Qatar yesterday expressed its condemnation and denunciation over the ballistic missile launched by Houthi militias targeting the Holy city of Makkah.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that launching a missile towards Makkah is a blatant assault on the sanctity of the Islamic holy sites and it represents a provocation to the feelings of millions of Muslims around the world.

The Ministry also considered this attack as a clear evidence of the continuation of the Houthi militias’ excesses and their refusal to adhere to the resolutions of the international community and the ongoing efforts to implement the armistice. It also hampers all efforts to reach a political solution to the Yemeni crisis.

The statement stressed Qatar ‘s firm position supporting the tireless efforts undertaken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to promote security and peace as well as to achieve peace in Yemen in accordance with the Gulf initiative, the outputs of the National Dialogue as well as the relevant UN resolutions, including the UNSC Resolution 2216.

GCC Secretary-General Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani expressed the strong condemnation of targeting of Makkah by a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi-Saleh group.

In a statemen, Al Zayani said GCC states consider this brutal assault a provocation to the feelings of Muslims and disrespect to the sanctity of Islamic holy sites. He added that the attack is a clear evidence of the group’s refusal to acknowledge the international community’s will and decisions as well as efforts to enforce the truce in Yemen and reach a political solution to the crisis there.

“The Iranian regime supports a terrorist group that launched its rockets on Makkah,” Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nayhan wrote on Twitter. “Is this regime Islamic as it claims?”
Yemen’s Shia rebels and their allies fired a ballistic missile deep into Saudi Arabia, an overnight strike that they said  had targeted an international airport while the kingdom claimed that it flew towards the holy city of Makkah.

Saudi Arabia said the missile was “intercepted and destroyed” 65km from Makkah, which is home to the Ka’aba that the world’s Muslims pray towards five times a day.

Angry Saudis soon denounced the missile fire online with hashtags questioning the faith of Shia rebels known as Houthis, as other Sunni Arab leaders in the Gulf linked the attack to Shia power Iran.

Invoking Makkah also invigorated support for Saudi Arabia as it leads the stalemated war in the Arab world’s poorest country, as well as turned attention away from those starving under a kingdom-led blockade and the civilians killed in its air strikes.

The Saudi military said the missile, fired on Thursday night from Yemen’s northwestern Saada province, which borders the kingdom, caused no damage. The Saudi military has a supply of US-made, surface-to-air Patriot missile batteries it previously has fired at Houthi-launched missiles.

The kingdom’s military said in a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency that it immediately targeted the area where the missile was launched in air strikes.

The Houthis and their allies, including forces loyal to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, have a stockpile of Soviet-era Scud missiles and locally designed variants. A Houthi ballistic missile fired earlier this month targeted Taif, home to Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd Air Base, which also is near Makkah.

What the missile fired Thursday night targeted, however, quickly became a controversy.

The Houthi-controlled satellite news channel Al Masirah said the Yemeni rebels had fired a Volcano-1 variant missile at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, without mentioning Makkah. The  airport is 75km northwest of Makkah.

The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency said the missile “directly hit” the airport and caused massive destruction, though there were no delays or diversions affecting the airport yesterday.

The Saudi military, however, stressed the missile was fired “towards” Makkah, without elaborating — the protection of the holy city is a key pillar of the Saudi royal family’s prestige and the country’s national identity.

While analysts suggest Tehran doesn’t have direct control over the Houthis, the US Navy says it is has intercepted Iranian arms heading to the rebels. In Iran, state media reported on the ballistic missile fire citing international reports, without any government comment.