Arab countries condemn deadly attack on Saudi forces in eastern Yemen

By Ibrahim al-Khazen

ISTANBUL (AA) - Several Arab countries on Sunday condemned an attack that targeted Saudi forces in a military camp of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition in eastern Yemen.

Citing a statement from the coalition's spokesperson Turki al-Malki on Saturday, the Saudi state news agency said that two members of the Saudi-led coalition forces were killed in Friday’s attack in Seiyun city by a soldier affiliated with the Yemeni Defense Ministry.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Jordan, Yemen and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) issued statements condemning the attack and voicing solidarity with the kingdom.

The Emirati Foreign Ministry expressed its strong condemnation and “permanent rejection of all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at undermining security and stability in contravention of international law.”

Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) Secretary-General Jassem Al-Budaiwi condemned what he described as "the treacherous attack on the Coalition Forces Supporting Legitimacy in Yemen," which left two Saudi soldiers killed.

Al-Budaiwi said that the coalition forces were making significant and valuable efforts to support humanitarian and developmental work, contributing to the stability, security and unity of Yemen.

Condemning the attack as a “terrorist act,” Jordan’s Foreign Ministry expressed the country’s “absolute rejection and denunciation” of the act.

The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry on Sunday also condemned the “treacherous attack” on the coalition forces camp.

Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, also condemned the “terrorist attack,” ordering an investigation in cooperation with the coalition forces.

The deadly attack against Saudi forces is the first in two years as relative calm prevailed in Yemen amid UN-sponsored peace talks between Saudi and Yemeni Houthi officials.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014 when Iran-backed Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

Since then, tens of thousands of Yemenis are believed to have been killed in the conflict, while 14 million are at risk of starvation, according to the UN.