GCC condemns Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia as Yemen fighting intensifies

Gulf ministers urge action against Houthis as fighting displaces more than 233,000 people across Yemen. Save Share The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has condemned repeated attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi fighters on Saudi Arabia and pledged support for the kingdom. The political and economic bloc that includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates issued a statement on Sunday, shortly after their foreign ministers’ meeting in Manama, Bahrain. The statement said an attack on any member affected all six, invoking a joint defence agreement and backing Saudi Arabia’s right to protect itself. The condemnation came as the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthisreportedshooting down two drones near Riyadh and inSaudi Arabia‘s Eastern Province early on Sunday. The coalition said another drone had been intercepted near the capital hours earlier, but did not identify who launched it. Gulf ministers accused theHouthisof carrying out deadly strikes on civilian airports and vital facilities. They also pressed for tighter enforcement of a United Nations arms embargo against the group and urged countries to formally designate it “a terrorist organisation”. The ministers welcomed an October 15 statement from the UN Security Council (UNSC), the body responsible for maintaining international peace, which condemned Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and threats to Red Sea shipping. Yemen’s internationally recognised government separatelyappealedto the UNSC to act against Houthi attacks on homes and state facilities. In letters addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UNSC’s president for October, Aglaia Balta, the Yemeni government cited an attack on the presidential palace in Aden, where the government is temporarily based. Separately on Sunday, UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud in Abu Dhabi to discuss regional security, the UAE’s state news agency WAM reported. Meanwhile, Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces press offensives on several fronts. The Yemeni militarysaidthe Houthis fired missiles towards the central city of Marib on Sunday, while government troops reported gains in Taiz, further south. Government-aligned commanderssaideight soldiers died in fighting in Lahij province on Saturday. Government forces also claimed to have killed 12 Houthi fighters in southern Taiz, figures that could not be independently confirmed....