Drone attack near Mecca ‘concerning’: India condemns attacks on Saudi Arabia — what did MEA say?

India expressed concern over the recent drone strike near Mecca, reaffirming its opposition to attacks on Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of External Affairs emphasised the need for peace and stability in the region, highlighting the incident's risk to civilians and critical infrastructure.

India on Wednesday voiced concern over the drone strike near Mecca and reaffirmed its opposition to any attacks on Saudi Arabia’s sovereign territory, stressing that such incidents put civilian lives and critical infrastructure at risk.

New Delhi called for an early restoration of peace and stability in the region.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, while responding to questions from the media about the incident, said, “We are deeply concerned at the drone attack near Makkah. India reiterates its condemnation of attacks on the sovereign territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and of actions that endanger civilian lives and infrastructure.”

Jaiswal added, “The incident near Makkah is particularly concerning, given the special significance of the city to Muslims across the world.”

“We hope for the early restoration of peace and stability in the region,” the MEA spokesperson further said.

Saudi coalition calls security of holy sites a ‘red line’

The Saudi-led coalition, earlier on Wednesday, warned that the security of Islam’s two holiest sites remains a "red line" after Saudi air defences intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Makkah Al-Mukarramah, commonly known as Mecca.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the coalition said the Royal Saudi Air Defence Forces detected and intercepted the drone on Tuesday evening before it could enter the restricted airspace surrounding Mecca.

Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki Al-Malki described the incident as a "hostile and terrorist act" and said the drone had been launched by what he referred to as the "Terrorist Houthi Militia".

"The security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims is a red line," Al-Malki said, adding that the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition "will not hesitate to take the necessary and deterrent measures" against the Houthi movement.

The coalition mentioned the incident marked the second reported attempt to target Mecca, citing an earlier incident involving a ballistic missile on July 27, 2017.

Al-Malki described the latest incident as an attempt to target "the birthplace of revelation, the land of the message, and the destination that draws the hearts of millions of Muslims from around the world", saying it also sought to spread fear among pilgrims and endanger citizens and residents.

Houthis deny targeting Mecca, reject Saudi Arabia’s allegation

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi movement on Wednesday denied Saudi Arabia’s claim that it had launched a drone towards the holy city of Mecca, describing the allegation as “fabrications and lies”. The group said its operations are focused on Saudi military and oil facilities located away from Islamic holy sites.

In a statement shared on Telegram, Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree accused the Saudi Al Saud regime of attempting to mislead the public and rejected claims that the group posed any threat to the holy sites.

Saree said Houthi operations were directed at “its oil facilities and military bases, which are far removed from the sacred sites.”

(With inputs from ANI)

About the Author

Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X

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