Houthi militia undermining regional stability

On April 10, Yemen reported the first confirmed case of COVID-19, posing a petrifying threat to people already weakened by years of conflict, and with a health system on the brink of collapse.

Since then, cases have risen to the hundreds, which, with extremely low testing rates, are likely to be undercounted, as per UN officials.

Instead of working on ways to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce its impact on the Yemeni people, the Houthi terrorist militia has been targeting civilian areas in the Saudi cities of Riyadh, Najran, and Jazan with explosives-laden drones and ballistic missiles.

The joint forces of the Arab coalition supporting the legitimate government in Yemen on Monday successfully intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia targeting civilians and civilian objects in Saudi Arabia.

The coalition forces managed to destroy eight bomb-laden drones launched by the Houthi militia.

Last week, the Coalition stated that it had intercepted and destroyed 313 missiles and 357 drones that were heading towards the Kingdom.

As Coalition Spokesman Colonel Turki Al Maliki pointed out, the Houthis continue in their villainous attempts aimed at civilians who are protected under International Humanitarian Law.

The attempts to deliberately target civilians reflect the failure of the terrorist militia and its immoral approach towards civilians.

The repeated targeting of populated areas and civilian facilities in Saudi Arabia by the Houthis is a war crime and threatens directly the safety of civilians.

The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition is totally justified in undertaking all decisive, rigorous measures against the terrorist Houthi militia to neutralise and destroy their capabilities in protection of innocent civilians against these haphazard, villainous acts in accordance with the customary International Humanitarian Law.

Against a backdrop of health facilities not functioning; shortages of testing devices, oxygen, ambulances and protective equipment; healthcare workers stricken with the virus; and sketchy electricity supplies in hospitals, UN officials have been insisting that even simple public health measures are challenging when 50 per cent of the population lacks clean water to wash their hands.

After five years of economic collapse, destroyed infrastructure, hunger, disease and displacement, COVID-19 is the latest blow to strike the country, top UN official Mark Lowcock had stated recently.

The situation in Yemen is catastrophic, he asserted, explaining that the coronavirus is spreading rapidly, with data suggesting a much higher rate of severe illness and death than in many other countries.

To this day, the UAE has spared no effort in helping the Yemeni people in their time of need. The UAE topped a list of donor countries contributing to the United Nation’s Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan, YHRP 2019. The UAE provided $5.59 billion in foreign assistance to Yemen between April 2015 and June 2019.

The UAE has always maintained that the security of the UAE and that of Saudi Arabia are indivisible, and any threat facing the Kingdom is considered a threat to the security and stability of the UAE.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) has rightly reiterated its full solidarity with Saudi Arabia against all threats to civilians, affirming its support for all measures taken by Saudi authorities to maintain the country’s security and stability.

As MoFAIC points out, the continuation of such attacks demonstrates the danger the Houthi coup poses to the region and further illustrates this militia’s aim to undermine regional security and stability.