Saudi coalition shoots down Houthi drone marching towards Abha


Devdiscourse News Desk | Riyadh | Updated: 20-07-2019 15:24 IST | Created: 20-07-2019 15:10 IST
Saudi coalition shoots down Houthi drone marching towards Abha
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  • Saudi Arabia

The Saudi-led coalition has shot down a Houthi drone marching towards the city of Abha on Saturday, according to media reports.

The coalition fighting the Yemen's Houthi group for around four years intercepted and shot down a Houthi drone heading towards civilian targets in Jizanon Wednesday too. 

The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa, have stepped up their attacks in the past few months against Saudi targets. In response, the coalition has targeted military sites belonging to the group, especially around Sanaa.

On Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and downed three Houthi drones launched towards the southwestern Saudi cities of Jizan and Abha near the Yemeni border.

The escalation in violence threatens a U.N.-sponsored deal for a ceasefire and troop withdrawal from the flashpoint coastal city of Hodeidah, which became the focus of the war last year when the coalition tried to seize its port, the Houthis’ main supply line and a lifeline for millions of Yemenis.

The Western-backed Sunni Muslim coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE intervened in Yemen in 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognized Yemeni government that was ousted from power in Sanaa by the Houthis in late 2014.

The war has killed tens of thousands of people and left millions on the brink of famine.

This is a developing story.

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