South Africa Slams Houthi Drone Attacks On Saudi Arabia - Foreign Ministry

JOHANNESBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th February, 2021) South Africa on Saturday condemned the Houthi drone attacks at targets in Saudi Arabia, including the latest strike at the Abha International Airport in the southwestern part of the kingdom, the South African Foreign Ministry said.

On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition operating in Yemen said a civilian plane at the Abha Airport caught fire due to an attack by the Houthi movement. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria responded by saying the movement hit warplane airfields at the airport with four drones on Wednesday afternoon and the strike "was accurate."

"The South African Government has noted, with concern, the increase in drone attacks directed at various targets throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, the most recent being the drone attack directed towards Abha Airport on 10 February 2021.

The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, has expressed her concerns that such attacks only serve to destabilise regional security, including that of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the ministry said in a press release.

The South African authorities noted that attacks targeting civilian areas were of particular concern as they may undermine the United Nations-mediated peace efforts in Yemen. South Africa also urged Saudi Arabia to keep restraint despite provocations to make way for conflict settlement in the neighboring country.

Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces, led by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, and the Houthi movement for several years now. The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015.