The Saudi Foreign Ministry responds to the Security Council statement regarding the Houthi attacks on the Kingdom

In a statement by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Friday, Saudi Arabia expressed its welcome of the presidential statement issued by members of the UN Security Council regarding the Houthi attacks in Yemen against the Kingdom, civilian objects and airports there. The ministry said: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s welcome of the presidential statement issued by members of the Security Council regarding the attacks against the Kingdom, and the condemnation it contains of the continuing and escalating attacks launched by the terrorist Houthi militia against the Kingdom, including attacks that targeted civilian objects, airports, and energy infrastructure, and the continuing threats to navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab,” according to what was reported by the Saudi News Agency “SPA.”

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs added: “The Kingdom stresses the importance of the contents of the statement, including stressing the importance of fully implementing Security Council Resolution No. 2216 (2015) and subsequent resolutions, and calling for practical cooperation to prevent the Houthi terrorist group from obtaining weapons and other forms of support.” The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that “the Kingdom appreciates the solidarity of the members of the Security Council with it in confronting the attacks targeting civilians and civilian objects on its territory, and stresses its inherent right guaranteed by international law to take all measures to defend its security and protect its citizens and residents.”

The members of the UN Security Council condemned in a statement, on Thursday evening, “in the strongest terms the continuous and escalatory attacks launched by the Houthis against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including attacks that targeted civil aviation and energy infrastructure and resulted in the death and injury of civilians,” according to what was reported by the “United Nations News” website. The statement issued by the President of the Council stated that this includes the strikes that he described as “reckless” that targeted King Khalid International Airport, on October 10 and 11, and resulted in 13 people were killed and more than 300 others were injured, in addition to multiple strikes that targeted other airports and Saudi Aramco facilities in the country.” Council members also reiterated their condemnation in the strongest terms of the continued Houthi attacks and threats against commercial navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab, and stressed the importance of preserving the safety of commercial ships and their crews.

Security Council members also stressed the importance of fully implementing Resolution 2216 of 2015 and subsequent resolutions. They called for practical cooperation, including with the Government of Yemen, to prevent the Houthis from obtaining weapons and related materiel, technical assistance, training, financing and other forms of assistance related to the military activities necessary to launch further attacks.

Council members called on the Houthis to "immediately stop their military escalation and attacks targeting civilians and civilian objects, and reaffirmed the Security Council's support for the government of Yemen and the strong commitment of its members to the unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Yemen," according to the United Nations.