Saudi Arabia accuses Yemen of firing missile into its territory

SAUDI ARABIA has said it intercepted a Scud ballistic missile fired from Yemen, according to a statement on the Saudi state news agency SPA.

Reuters quoted a Saudi official saying that, “Saudi Air Defense Forces intercepted at about 2000 GMT yesterday a Scud missile launched from Sanaa, in Yemeni territory, toward the city of Najran … the air force immediately destroyed the rocket launch platform.”

Yemen’s state news agency said the target was a Saudi national guard base.

The attack was the latest of several ballistic missile strikes by Yemeni forces on its northern neighbor, none of which had caused any reported casualties.

A military alliance of mostly Gulf Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia in March began bombing Yemen’s Houthi movement, an ally of Iran, to try to restore the government of president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The conflict had killed nearly 6,000 people and plunged the impoverished country into a humanitarian crisis, but a ceasefire coinciding with United Nations-backed talks began on the 15 of this month.

Though Saudi Arabia and the Houthis had accused each other of many violations of the ceasefire, it had significantly reduced the fighting and allowed for deliveries of small amounts of aid to the war zones. The warring parties in Yemen have agreed to resume talks on the 14 of next month.