Saudi Arabia intercepts two Houthi drones aimed at Khamis Mushait

Riyadh accuses rebels of targeting civilian and residential areas

Spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition Colonel Turki Al Maliki during a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. AFP

The Saudi-led coalition said on Monday that it intercepted and downed two drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels near the southern city of Khamis Mushait.

The attack, which was intercepted by Saudi air defences, comes despite a unilateral truce announced by the coalition in early April as the coronavirus pandemic hit countries in the region.

“The Houthis continue to violate international humanitarian law by launching drones and deliberately targeting civilians and residential areas, threatening the lives of hundreds of civilians,” coalition spokesman Colonel Turki Al Maliki said.

Col Al Maliki said the attacks reflected the rebels' rejection of the truce, which was declared to allow Yemen to focus on the threat from the coronavirus.

The Iran-backed Houthis have been dismissive of the truce, with some rebel officials calling it a “political and media manoeuvre”, and have continued to conduct drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Col Al Maliki said the drone attacks, which he blamed on the rebels and Iran's Revolutionary Guard, showed the real threat posed by the group and the Iranian regime supporting it.

The Houthis have launched more than 5,000 attacks since the truce kicked in on April 9, using all types of light and heavy weaponry as well as ballistic missiles, he said.

"The coalition forces will continue to take deterrent measures against the terrorist Houthi militia to neutralise and destroy their capabilities, in accordance with international laws," Col Al Maliki said.

Saudi Arabia and Houthi representatives launched back-channel talks late last year but violence has surged in recent months, threatening fragile peace deals in Yemen’s vital port city of Hodeidah.

Yemen’s civil war started with the Houthi rebels capturing the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. The following year, a Saudi-led coalition intervened to battle the rebels at the request of the internationally recognised government.

The conflict is at a stalemate, with the rebels retaining control of much of northern Yemen including Sanaa.

Saudi Arabia and the UN will host a virtual pledging conference for Yemen on Tuesday.

Top UN officials last week appealed for $2.4 billion (Dh8.8bn) to support operations in Yemen this year. UN agencies say 80 per cent of the population, or 24 million people, are dependent on aid to survive, while the country's battered healthcare system is struggling to cope with the outbreak of coronavirus on top of diseases such as cholera.