The 22-member Arab League has condemned the international community’s silence over the attacks launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels against Saudi Arabia.
On Thursday, the Arab Parliament, the League’s legislative body, “denounced […] the international silence” over the “continuation of the despicable and repeated attacks by the terrorist Houthi militia” against Saudi Arabia. It urged the international community to condemn the Houthis for their frequent attacks on the Gulf monarchy. Furthermore, it warned that “failure to take deterrent stances provides this terrorist militia with a negative message and enables it to persist in spreading chaos and undermining security and stability in the region.”
The Parliament’s comments came after the Houthis on Wednesday launched a projectile at civilian objects in Ahad al-Masarihah governorate in the southwest Jazan province, which shares a border with Yemen. The attack targeted an industrial zone and caused material damage to three workshops and three vehicles.
The rebels also launched five ballistic missiles towards the King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait and two missiles towards the city of Abha on the same day. The Houthis claimed that the attack on the airbase was an “accurate” hit, while the Saudi-led coalition said that its forces had intercepted the missiles launched towards Abha.
Calling these attacks “war crimes,” the Arab Parliament said that the “continuation of the Houthi militia’s systematic crimes and its constant targeting of civilians and civilian facilities reflects its blatant challenge to international law.” Moreover, the legislative body “reiterated its support for all measures” taken by Saudi Arabia “to defend its territory [and] preserve its security and the safety of its citizens.”
Earlier this week, members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) condemned “terrorist attacks” against civilians and residential areas in Marib, referring to the large-scale offensive mounted by the Houthis to take control of the Yemeni city from coalition-backed forces.
Over the last few weeks, the battle for Marib has dramatically escalated, with both sides engaging in intense tit-for-tat attacks. The most recent incident involved the Houthis destroying 20 military vehicles of the Saudi-led coalition, which retaliated by launching airstrikes that killed 210 Houthis on Tuesday.
The unrest in Yemen began in 2014, when a civil war broke out between the Houthis and the internationally recognised Hadi government. In 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched a major offensive in Yemen by conducting airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas. Since then, there has been no end in sight to the war, and international efforts to halt the fighting have largely failed.