Riyadh Draws Hard Line on Security as Houthi Strikes Escalate

(MENAFN) Saudi Arabia declared Tuesday that its security, territorial integrity and defense capabilities represent "a firm principle that cannot be compromised," affirming what it called an "established" right to self-defense and protection of its sovereignty.

The declaration emerged from a Cabinet session chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to an official Saudi press agency.

Ministers used the session to condemn what they termed ongoing "sinful and deliberate attacks by the terrorist Houthi militia" targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure inside the Kingdom.

“The security of Saudi Arabia, the safety of its territory and its resources are a firm principle that cannot be compromised,” the Cabinet said.

The statement further asserted that Saudi Arabia's right to defend itself and safeguard its sovereignty, citizens, residents and core national interests is grounded in the UN Charter and international law.

The Cabinet's language comes against a backdrop of intensifying Houthi strikes launched from Yemen into Saudi territory. Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognized government, said Tuesday that Houthi attacks on Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif in the Kingdom's southwest had left 13 civilians injured.

The escalation follows the Houthis' recent expansion of control along Yemen's Red Sea coastline, a push that has included seizing Mayyun Island in the strategically vital Bab el-Mandab Strait.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Houthis overran the capital Sanaa and several surrounding provinces in September 2014 — a takeover that triggered a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervention in March 2015 on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognized government, a war that continues to reverberate across the region today.

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