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Pakistan condemns Houthi drone attack in Saudi Arabia

Pakistan condemns Houthi drone attack in Saudi Arabia
March 10, 2019
ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Pakistan has noted with serious concern the drone attack by Yemen’s Houthi on Saudi Arabia's Abha city on Saturday. It is pertinent to mention here that Saudi Arabia’s Royal Air Defence Force earlier on Friday shot down a Houthi drone targeting civilians in a residential area of the city of Abha. A press release issued by Foreign Office in Islamabad on Sunday, said Pakistan reiterates its full support and solidarity with leadership, Government and people of Saudi Arabia against any threats to its territorial integrity and Harmain Shareefain. “We commend the government of Saudi Arabia, especially the Royal Defence Forces, for timely intercepting and destroying the drone before it could cause any serious damage,” the Foreign Office said, in a statement. It also said such attacks, targeting the unarmed civilian population, are a clear violation of international law and pose a serious challenge to regional peace and security. It said the reports of injuries to Saudis and other expatriates as well as damage to properties as a result of the falling debris of this drone remains a matter of concern.
Houthi attempt to hit Saudi civilians in drone attack condemned
A day earlier, Saudi Arabia’s Royal Air Defence Force shot down a Houthi drone targeting civilians in a residential area of the city of Abha, the Saudi Press Agency reported. After examining the wreckage, the Saudi-led Arab coalition said “it showed characteristics and specifications of Iranian manufacturing.” Col Turki Al-Maliki, the spokesman for the coalition, warned the Iranian-backed Houthi militia “in the strongest terms” to stop targeting civilian. He said the coalition would take all measures, in accordance with international humanitarian law, to counter such threats. The drone was intercepted over a residential area in the city of Abha, about 230 kilometers north of the border with Yemen, according to reports on Al Arabiya TV. Col Mohammed Al-Assami, a spokesman for the Directorate of Civil Defence in Asir region, said four Saudis, one of them a woman, and an Indian expat were injured by falling debris. Six vehicles and a number of houses were damaged.