Saudi civil defence issues brief danger warning for Mecca city

RIYADH: Saudi Civil Defence on Thursday (Sep 24) issued a brief series of alerts including one for Mecca city, home to Islam's holiest sites, in warnings that usually indicate a potential missile or drone threat.

"A warning has been issued by the National Early Warning Platform in Mecca City to alert of a potential danger," it said, with separate warnings for the Red Sea governorate of Yanbu as well as the Taif, Jeddah and Tabuk regions.

The alerts were lifted a few minutes later. In recent weeks, alerts have often preceded attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.

Last week, Riyadh accused the group of targeting Mecca for the first time since 2017 with a drone that was downed, an accusation the Houthis have denied.

A few days later, the group attacked the Saudi capital Riyadh for the first time in years, marking a new escalation in the conflict.

The Houthis, at war with a Saudi-led coalition that has propped up the internationally-recognised Yemeni government since 2015, has ramped up its attacks against the kingdom, embroiling Yemen in the Middle East war.

Earlier this month, the Houthis seized control of strategic coastal areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandab strait, vital for Saudi oil exports, after capturing territory from Saudi-backed government forces.

In July, a fragile 2022 truce between the Houthis and the government fell apart after the group allowed an Iranian plane to land in Sanaa in defiance of Riyadh's control over Yemeni airspace, setting off a spate of attacks.

They later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its tankers and territory.

The Houthi gains cement the hold of Iran and its allies on the two waterways that the wider Gulf, including top crude exporter Saudi Arabia, relies on to ship out its oil.