Saudi Arabia on Wednesday accused the Iran-backed Houthis of an attempted attack on Mecca, the holiest city in Islam and a site of pilgrimage for Muslims worldwide. Colonel Turki Al-Malki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen, said that the Houthis launched a drone toward Mecca on Tuesday evening, but it was shot down by the Saudi Air Defense Forces before entering the city’s restricted airspace. Riyadh referenced a previous similar incident from July 2017, in which it accused the Houthis of targeting Mecca.
The Houthis acknowledged launching a missile from Yemen, but said that it was aiming for the King Fahd air base in Taif. The Yemeni militia group has denied the allegation, accusing Riyadh of spreading “false accusations” on Wednesday. Our operations target its oil facilities and military bases, and are far from the holy sites,” said Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree via Telegram.
The allegation comes amid a widening regional crisis. Houthi advances along Yemen’s Red Sea coast are threatening shipping and energy supplies—already disrupted by the conflict in Iran— while drawing growing concern from the U.S. and other Saudi Arabia allies. The past month’s escalation is only the latest development amid the wider civil war between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemen government, which has been ongoing since 2014.
But a confirmed attack on Mecca would undoubtedly be a turning point. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country signed a joint defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey last month, called on all parties to exercise restraint. He warned that the conflict was on the “brink of further escalation” and that “dialogue and diplomacy remain the only sustainable path to peace.” At the same time, he condemned the alleged attack.
Fawaz Gerges, a professor in international relations at the London School of Economics, questions what the Houthis would have to gain from such an attack. Over 1.7 million Muslims this year performed Hajj, their pilgrimage to Mecca, according to the Saudi government. The Houthis claimed that Saudi aircraft had carried out more than 450 airstrikes this week.
The group also claimed, without providing evidence, that it had shot down a Saudi-led coalition F-15 over Yemen. Houthi strikes, meanwhile, have been largely concentrated along the Yemeni border in the south. They have also made advances in the Red Sea, seizing key sites like Perim Island and the port of Mokha.
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