Rebels fire missile at Abu Dhabi nuke plant

YEMEN: Houthi rebels in Yemen said they had fired a cruise missile at a nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, their first attempt in the two-year-old conflict to strike a target in the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE denied the report yesterday, and said the al-Barakah nuclear plant was secure against all eventualities.

The country’s emergency and crisis management department said the Emirates possessed a missile-defence system to deal with such threats.

The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to strike the UAE, Saudi Arabia’s lead partner in its operation to oust the Iran-backed fighters from power.

‘‘The missile force announces the launching of a winged cruise missile ... towards the al-Barakah nuclear reactor in Abu Dhabi,’’ the Houthi statement said.

The US$20 billion Barakah project, 225km west of Abu Dhabi, is still under construction. It is being built by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) and the first of four reactors is expected to be operational next year.

Masdar Online, a Yemeni anti-Houthi news website, claimed the missile landed in al-Jawf, north Yemen, and never reached its target.

It is the second time this year the Houthis have spoken of attacking the UAE.

In September they said they had successfully test-fired a missile that had the capacity to strike Abu Dhabi, and warned all UAE companies that they were no longer safe.

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies launched a bombing campaign against the Houthis two years ago to reinstate Mansour Hadi, who was forced from the Yemeni presidency when the group seized the capital, Sanaa.

The Saudi-led air, sea and land blockade on the country, together with sieges by the Houthi rebels on pro-government areas, has resulted in 20 million people having to rely on aid to survive.

The conflict has also caused the worst cholera outbreak recorded and fears of a famine affecting 7 million people. The World Health Organisation said last month that there were more than 900,000 cases of cholera in Yemen, and this is expected to rise to a million within months.

The Houthis have repeatedly fired at Saudi Arabia in retaliation, with increasingly sophisticated ballistic missiles leading to speculation Iran is behind the weaponry.

The latest attempt to strike Saudi Arabia took place on Friday. It came a month after Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted a missile over Riyadh, about 700km north of the border.

Last year Saudi Arabia shot down a similar missile 65km from Mecca, the site of Islam’s holiest shrine. –