Debris sparks campus fire as Houthi missiles shot down
Debris from missiles fired in a Houthi attack caused a fire on a university campus in southern Saudi Arabia, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels in Yemen said.
Saudi air defences intercepted five missiles and four armed drones launched by the Iranbacked Houthis towards the southern city of Jizan, Brig Gen Turki Al Malki said.
Debris from the intercepted attack started a small fire on the campus at Jizan University. There were no casualties and the blaze was extinguished, he told the Saudi Press Agency.
The attacks were carried out on Wednesday night from Saada province in Yemen, he said.
The northern province bordering Saudi Arabia is a stronghold of the rebels, who seized the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in late 2014.
Brig Gen Malki condemned the escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi civilian targets, saying the “hostile acts constitute war crimes”.
Saudi Arabia has reported Houthi drone and missile attacks on its oil centres, airports and other civilian targets in recent months.
Attacks have increased despite international pressure to find a political solution to Yemen’s civil war.
The UN’s special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, urged armed groups in the country to silence their guns during Ramadan.
He said the holy month offered an opportunity to “come together, think of those who are suffering, and overcome our differences”.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced by the war, which has created what the UN describes as the world’s greatest humanitarian disaster.