UAE denies Houthi missile attack on its territories

The UAE has denied that Houthi rebels launched a missile from Yemen that reached its airspace or posed any threat to a Nuclear Power Plant project that will be inaugurated next year.

According to a statement published by the Emirates News Agency: “The National Emergency and Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) has denied the allegations made by the Houthi coup-connivers in Yemen about launching a missile towards UAE airspace today.”

It continued: “The UAE has an air defence system that is capable of dealing with any type of threat.”

It also confirmed that “Brakah Nuclear Power Plant project is immune to all possible threats” and it has “all the security, safety and nuclear safety measures required by such giant national projects”.

On Sunday Houthi rebels announced through their channel Al-Masirah that they have targeted Brakah Nuclear Power Plant, which they described as a “strategic target,” in Abu Dhabi with a cruise missile.

Read more: Yemen’s Houthi: We fired cruise missile towards Abu Dhabi nuclear reactor

In a statement on Al-Masirah the Houthis stated that the attack follows “a successful test of a medium-range ballistic missile on a military target in Saudi Arabia,” on 30 November.

Riyadh has been leading a military coalition against rebels in Yemen since 2015, accusing them of getting support from Tehran. The UAE is a key partner in the alliance.

Saudi Arabia announced that on Thursday it intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Yemeni territories towards the city of Khamis Mushait in south-west Saudi Arabia. It confirmed that its air forces intercepted and destroyed it without causing any casualties.

On 4 November Saudi forces intercepted a missile which Houthis launched near Riyadh King Khalid International Airport, which forced the military coalition to tighten its blockade on Yemen.

The Houthis’ latest announcement comes at a time when President Ali Abdullah Saleh has threatened to bypass the Houthi rebels and expressed his readiness to open “a new page” with the Saudi-led military coalition.

The Houthis accused Saleh of leading “a coup” against “a partnership he has never believed in” and they promised that “capitals of the aggressor states will have to pay a high price,” referring to the military coalition member states.