Saudi-led coalition destroys Houthi drone from Yemen

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said today it had intercepted an explosive-laden drone fired by the Houthis towards Saudi Arabia, Anadolu Agency reports.

“Coalition forces managed to intercept and destroy an unmanned explosive-laden drone launched by the Houthi towards Khamis Mushait city” in southern Saudi Arabia, coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki, said in a statement cited by the Saudi SPA News Agency.

Al-Maliki said the Houthis targeting of civilian areas amounted to “war crimes”.

There was no comment from the Houthi group on the report.

Yemen has been wracked by violence and instability since 2014, when Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises with nearly 80 per cent or about 30 million of its people needing humanitarian assistance and protection and more than 13 million in danger of starving to death.

READ: Scores of Yemen refugees arrive in Somalia