Daijiworld Media Network - Riyadh
Riyadh, Oct 6: Three people were injured and property damaged after attacks targeted two airports in Saudi Arabia on Monday evening, according to the country’s civil aviation authority.
In a statement posted on X, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Jazan and Najran International Airport were targeted on Monday evening.
GACA said emergency response teams and relevant authorities responded immediately under established emergency plans.
The three injured persons were shifted to hospital for medical treatment. GACA said it was coordinating with the relevant authorities to assess the damage, verify the safety of airport facilities and take measures to ensure passenger safety and maintain the security of Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation system.
The Houthis on Monday claimed responsibility for attacks targeting sites in southern Saudi Arabia, including military facilities and airports, Gulf News reported.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned what it described as the Houthis’ targeting of civilians, civilian and economic facilities in the Kingdom, and Saudi vessels in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's strongest condemnation and denunciation of the terrorist Houthi militia's continued targeting of civilians and civilian and economic facilities in the Kingdom; its blatant and repeated attacks against the holiest sites on earth-Makkah and Madinah—the capital Riyadh, and the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, Najran, Taif, and Yanbu; and its targeting of Saudi vessels in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait,” the ministry said in a post on X.
“The Kingdom affirms that, since the terrorist Houthi militia's coup against Yemen's legitimate government in 2014, the Kingdom has made sustained and tireless efforts to support a comprehensive and lasting political solution in Yemen. However, consistent with its rejection of peace, the terrorist Houthi militia has instead chosen continued military escalation, dragging Yemen and the brotherly Yemeni people into further humanitarian and economic suffering to serve and advance external agendas,” it added.
Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its right to defend its territory, resources and sovereignty, as well as the safety of its citizens and residents, and to take all necessary measures to protect its security in accordance with international law.
It also renewed its political and military support for the Presidential Leadership Council, the Yemeni government and the Yemeni people to end the conflict and restore the state and its institutions from the control of the Houthi militia.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry also reiterated its call on the international community, particularly the permanent members of the UN Security Council, to fulfil their responsibilities, implement relevant Security Council resolutions and provide full support to Yemen’s legitimate government in confronting the Houthi militia and ending the threat it poses to Yemen, the region and the world.