Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan have announced they are planning an urgent meeting of their chiefs of staff to discuss ways to support the kingdom under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. The announcement followed a meeting on Thursday in New York between Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, according to the Saudi Press Agency. The statement did not say when the military chiefs would meet or what form of support could be considered.
Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on August 7 to strengthen collective deterrence and expand defence cooperation. The pact stipulates that an attack on one of the three countries is considered an attack on them all. The three countries have since begun setting up mechanisms under the pact.
Their foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs met in Istanbul on August 31 for the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, agreeing to establish a secretariat in Saudi Arabia and to deepen military cooperation. Thursday’s foreign ministers’ meeting also condemned attacks targeting Mecca as well as civilian and economic facilities in Saudi Arabia, and it affirmed the kingdom’s right to defend itself under Article 51 of the UN Charter. The diplomatic moves came as Saudi Arabia reported a fresh wave of attacks from Yemen.
Saudi Arabia said its air defences shot down six ballistic missiles launched towards Taif and Yanbu on Thursday. Major-General Turki al-Malki, the coalition spokesman, said further Houthi escalation would be “dealt with firmly”. Saudi Civil Defence authorities had issued alerts in several areas before later saying the danger had passed.
The Houthis separately claimed missile and drone attacks on a “sensitive target” in Riyadh and Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu. France has also offered to provide defensive support to Saudi Arabia. President Emmanuel Macron said Paris would send military assets to help protect Yanbu.
The cross-border attacks have coincided with some of the heaviest fighting inside Yemen since hostilities escalated again. Fighting across several fronts in Yemen killed at least 150 Houthi fighters and members of government-aligned forces in the 24 hours leading into Friday, according to an news agency tally. The toll compiled by included 98 fighters on the government side and 52 from the Houthis, with clashes reported around the Kahboub Mountains and areas between Lahj and Taiz overlooking the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
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