Saudi Arabia briefly issues threat alerts for 2 southwestern cities

Brief alerts were issued in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern cities of Jizan and Najran to warn of a “potential danger,” the Saudi Civil Defense announced Saturday, Anadolu reports.

“The danger has passed in Najran City,” the civil defense wrote on US social media platform X, several minutes after issuing the alert.

It called on people to follow official instructions and to “avoid gathering and filming.”

Earlier Saturday, the Saudi Civil Defense issued a similar warning for the city of Jizan before announcing that the danger was over.

The alerts came as Houthi missile and drone attacks continue to target Saudi territory amid an ongoing military escalation in neighboring Yemen.

Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government since 2015 in its fight against the Houthis, who have controlled Sanaa and several other provinces since 2014.

The current escalation began in July after a period of relative calm following a UN-brokered truce that started in April 2022.