THE Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen’s Houthis accused them on Wednesday of targeting Islam’s holy city Mecca, sparking outrage across the Muslim world.
The Houthis swiftly rejected as a “lie” Riyadh’s statement that it had shot down a drone heading towards Mecca, which attracts millions of pilgrims each year.
Fresh fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government has dragged in the kingdom, with the Houthis declaring a maritime blockade on its ships in the Red Sea.
Last week, the Houthis seized control of the entirety of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital artery for Saudi oil exports as the wider Middle East war chokes off the Strait of Hormuz shipping route.
“The claims about targeting Mecca are a worn-out lie that has been used before and no longer fools anyone,” Hazem al-Assad from the Houthi politburo wrote on X.
“I saw a few people panicking, running to the window to see what happened,” a Mecca resident who asked for anonymity told AFP.
“I think the alarm system creates panic… Life is normal in Mecca, and there have been previous incidents in Mecca so this isn’t the first one.”
Saudi Arabia accused the Houthis of launching attacks towards Mecca in an earlier conflict. — AFP
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