UN condemns Houthi ballistic missile against Saudi Arabia
All 15 council members express alarm at intention to continue attacks
The UN Security Council has condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the ballistic missile attack by Houthi rebels in Yemen against Saudi Arabia.
All 15 council members on Friday approved a statement that “expressed alarm at the stated intention of the Houthis to continue these attacks against Saudi Arabia, and to launch additional attacks against other states in the region”.
A Saudi-led coalition, which includes the UAE, is fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels on behalf of the internationally recognised government of Yemeni president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile of the capital Riyadh. The rebels said they were targeting Al Yamama Palace, the official residence of King Salman, in the western suburbs of the capital. It is also the headquarters of the Royal Court.
The council called for an arms embargo on the Houthi rebels and urged the parties in Yemen to start negotiating a political statement.
Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, has endured three years of civil war between Houthi rebels and a US-backed military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
More than 10,000 people have been killed and the country has been taken to the brink of famine. Cholera flared up in April and spread rapidly, killing 2,227 people, but the death rate has since fallen dramatically.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Wednesday that cholera in the country had reached one million suspected cases, a statement that the coalition said might be exaggerated.
“It is nearly impossible to accurately determine whether the suspected cases are cholera or simple diarrhoea,” a spokesman for the coalition said.
Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday that it would allow the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah, which is crucial for aid delivery, to stay open for a month. The rebels control the capital Sanaa.
The coalition spokesman said Houthis were suspicious of vaccination drives and did not readily allow humanitarian aid and workers into their territory, and “even loot food and medical supplies”.